LEGEND X
by Story Dragon
Summary: Follow the adventures of the Xmen's newest additions in this tale of action, space, time, dimensions, war, trust, love, mystery and a dark secret that will test the bonds of friendship to the limit. New students, new powers, new Legend.Rated for safety
1. Chapter 1, Prime Target

**Prime Target**

The Solar System. Gigantic spheres of substances and materials, all caught in the gravitational force of a star and hurtling around at great speed, falling through the vast emptiness of space.

There is no sound. Only the cold nothing that makes up the universe and surrounds the planets, moons, stars and nebulas. If only we could take the time to admire it's wonders. If only we could stop and gaze in awe at the colours of a nebula, or watch in amazement at the power of a supernova. But at this moment in time there is but one place in the universe that I draw your attention to. A small blue planet in the Solar system. The only planet for light-years around that is able to sustain life. It is this planet that plays the biggest part in the story I have for you.

More specifically, it is a country located on the planet's northern hemisphere that I would like you to observe. The inhabitants of this planet, 'Earth' as they know it, have named this country 'England.'

To be perfectly specific, the story begins (or, rather, _continues_)in a small town called 'Grantham.' There is nothing special about this town, for it is a perfectly normal, perfectly human location. At the moment.

'BAMF!'

The sound tore through the colourful crowd of people, busily heading to their chosen destinations (assuming none of them were actually going nowhere in particular). Some of them turned, searching for the source of the noise. Some of them ignored it completely and continued to walk with their faces as blank as stone. Upon closer observation, there were figures in the crowd that were paying total attention to the noise.

Weaving through the maze of people, like a stream would make it's way over pebbles in the riverbed, were two relatively young males. The first, who was seemingly leading the pair, was dressed entirely in black and was relatively thin. He wore reasonably baggy combat trousers that partially covered a pair of blurred trainers. The belt around his waist had a fairly large buckle with a small gold 'X' in the middle. Most of his shirt was covered by a long black trench coat that flowed out behind him as he ran. His dark, bluey-grey eyes were slightly exaggerated by his pale, angled, emotionless face. His brown hair was untidy and spiked up in several places, in need of a hairbrush.

The second had a slightly larger build and was also dressed in mostly black. He wore a pair of baggy black trousers and a tight t-shirt emblazoned with two 'X's on either shoulder. His face had more colour then the first, but was rounder and his dusty brown hair was cut short.

"Target identified, heading to rooftop level. Planning interception route," the thinner of the two spoke into a small, wrist mounted device. His voice carried the same blank tone as his face but was almost hypnotically smooth.

"There's a set of stairs on the other side of that shop. I'll meet you up top," the larger boy explained. His voice was deeper, but firm and sharp.

"We have to move fast. He's panicking and the Sentinels are on approach," said the other boy, raising his voice slightly so that his companion could hear him over the crowd as they ran.

"You'll have to fly, otherwise we'll never catch him in time!" the other boy said, also having to raise his voice.

"I'm on it. You'll have to find another way up," the first boy stated before disappearing into an alley.

The second boy darted over the road and vanished up a set of metal stairs leading to the roof.

'BAMF!'

The sound came again, closer this time. A burst of static over the intercom on the fist boy's wrist signalled a message from his ally.

"Entity, I just saw him. He's on the roof!"

"_Follow him," _Entity replied, not using the wrist com but talking by some other means.

He whipped round the corner of the alley, his trench coat swishing out behind him. He skidded to a stop and directed his gaze upwards, scrutinising the sapphire sky above him. A dark blur passed over head, leaping from one side of the alley top to the other at amazing speed.

"_Found him," _Entity told his companion.

He directed his palms towards the ground beneath him and pushed against the air. The space around his hands seemed to ripple with an invisible energy and his body lifted towards the sky.

His cloak billowed out behind him as he touched down gently on the surface of the rooftop.

In the distance, the blurred figure was still leaping from roof to roof in a desperate escape attempt. After seconds of surveying the area, Entity blasted forwards, diving into the air and lifting higher and higher.

"_Sub-zero, full speed north then circle round when you reach the park. Slow him down but remember, don't hurt him," _Entity ordered, dropping to mere metres above the roof level.

"On my way," replied the second boy, who had been watching the pursuit from a distance. He shunted his hand forwards as if pushing something over. A burst of pale energy erupted from his hand and formed a solid ice slide on which he began to race forwards, lifting higher into the air. Numerous buildings raced by below him and the crowds of people seemed to either not notice, or not care. This effect was created by a device that Beast had designed. Providing Sub-zero did nothing to directly affect the humans, they wouldn't notice him. A voice suddenly pierced his train of thought.

"_You've been practising. You're faster then usual," _commented Entity, despite being so far away.

Concentrating, he sent a mental reply back, _"The Danger Room Speed courses are responsible for that."_

"_Depending on wether we get to him first, this guy would do well in the speed courses," _replied Entity, still gliding through the air after the mysterious dark shape.

"_Okay, I'm circling around. Can you get me a mental lock on him?" _asked Sub-zero through their mental connection.

"_I'm three steps ahead of you," _thought Entity in reply. Sub-zero could suddenly pinpoint exactly where the subject was, as if his mind was being drawn to it.

"_As usual," _commented his companion.

"_Would you rather me not be prepared?" _asked Entity, swooping lower over the town.

"_I wouldn't want it any other way," _he replied.

"Cyclops to Entity, we have Sentinels closing in on your location. What's your status?" asked an urgent voice over the intercom.

"_We have a lock on the target but he's on the move. We're gaining on him but he's fast," _Entity informed, close enough to the rooftops to land. As soon as he felt the solid surface beneath his feet he began to run as fast as he could in the direction of their target.

The intercom crackled into life again, "As much as you like to practice long distance links with telepathy, I'd prefer you to use the intercom to communicate with us please, Entity."

Frowning, Entity lifted the communicator to his mouth to reply, "Understood Cyclops. Are you able to slow the Sentinels down?"

"Negative. Storm's been trying for the past ten minutes to bring them down but it appears that they've been modified with insulation against lightning," replied Cyclops, sounding bitter.

"I can see the storm clouds from here. Tell her not to bother, we're almost on him anyway," Sub-zero explained, looking into the distance, where a group of bulging grey clouds were beginning to dissipate.

In a sleek, clean 'swish' of ice, Sub-zero flipped himself around in the direction of the escaping target.

"Do we know his name, by the way?" he asked over the intercom.

"His name's Stephen Blanchard. He goes to the same school as us but he's younger by about a year," informed Entity, vaulting over the side of another building and landing on top of a smaller building's ventilation block, "He's thirteen years old, in case you don't have time to work that out."

"Okay then, I think the only way we're going to do this is if one of us incapacitates him. Can you reach him psychically from here?" asked Sub-zero, ignoring the comment and veering around various chimneys with expert skill.

"Yes, but he might fall. It may also be an adequate time to mention that he can teleport," explained Entity, flipping over another alley.

"He's a teleporter? That explains a lot," commented Cyclops with another buzz of static.

"Yes it does. That explains why he's now about two miles ahead of us and he's gaining an average of fifteen metres per _second_. He's almost at Somerby Hill," stated Sub-zero, impressed.

"Entity, you have no choice. Fly after him and bring him down telepathically. Sub, I want you to make sure he has a soft landing," ordered Cyclops.

A new voice sounded over the intercom, "I shall create a blanket of fog to conceal your efforts." By what she said, it was obviously Storm.

"Understood," replied both Entity and Sub-zero simultaneously.

Entity stopped at the edge of a large post office. Closing his eyes and concentrating, a familiar ripple of energy surrounded him, he lifted high into the air in a perfect vertical motion. He brought both his arms back and punched forwards, blasting through the air like a bullet. As he moved, a brilliant fiery aura built up around him, as if he were a comet entering Earth's Atmosphere. From where Sub-zero was, it looked as if a thin bird (composed entirely of fire) was screeching though the air in the direction of their objective.

"Entity, please keep an eye on your power output. I don't want another manifestation," Cyclops called over the com device.

"It looks bad, but he's not actually using up much energy," informed Sub-zero, crouching lower on his ice-slide and pelting along faster.

"_I can feel his mind... he's terrified of us... I'm slowing him down but he's struggling... becoming more frantic... are you ready to catch him?" _Entity asked, hovering above the paralysed body of the boy they had been chasing. He was younger, that was certain, but instantly recognisable as a mutant. A deep blue fur coated his entire body and a thin, wiry tail whipped around violently.

"This guy's almost an exact replica of Nightcrawler," Entity muttered into the com device.

"His landing strip is ready," quipped Sub-zero, "You're clear to land."

Entity released his hold on the boy's mind and he dropped, unconscious, from the air, sliding down a thin slide of solid ice before coming to a stop, gently, in a mound of snow.

"Good job, guys. We'll get him to the Institute but first we need to take care of the uninvited robots, otherwise, we can't take off," instructed Cyclops over the com. A huge black stealth jet suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of a nearby field, as if it had just been painted onto the environment. A small ramp lowered and out hurried two more figures, both with the letter 'X' marking their uniforms. Cyclops, carrying a stretcher, was the first to make it to the fallen boy. Storm glided over and aided him onto the stretcher before both of them carried him into the jet. Seconds later, they both re-emerged and made their way over to Sub-zero and Entity.

"The Sentinels have landed!" Storm exclaimed, rising into the air, ready for battle.

Cyclops, Entity and Sub-zero spun round and dropped into battle positions. All three of them rolled out of the way of a burst of plasma fire from the group of mutant-hunting robots.

"**TARGETS IDENTIFIED. REVERT TO PRIMARY OBJECTIVE. ELIMINATE MUTANT TARGETS," **they droned in unison, lumbering towards the mutants.

"Entity, get into the air! Sub, you're with me! Take them out!" ordered Cyclops, unleashing a blast of red energy from the visor covering his eyes. The beam hit the lead Sentinel square in the chest but only left a scorch mark.

"Remember," Storm said, "They are shielded!"

One of the metal brutes reached towards the now air-born Entity in an attempt to crush him.

Entity raised his hand, level with the robot's head, and closed his hand into a fist, as if crushing a fly. The Sentinel stopped and, as if tonnes of pressure had been applied to every angle of it's face, it imploded. A shower of broken components hit the ground, followed by the body of the Sentinel.

Metres away, Sub-zero sent shards of ice hammering into the legs of an approaching robot. As it toppled to the ground he fired a beam of ice at it's upper half, freezing in through. Using the immobilised Sentinel as a ramp, Sub-zero slid up into the air and brought a single frozen fist down into the Sentinel's chest. With a sound like splintering glass, the entire structured disappeared into fragments.

Storm sent spikes of lightening in all directions, but it harmlessly bounced off the remaining Sentinels. Cyclops continuously shunted it backwards with jolts of energy but it was beginning to loose it's effectiveness.

"Sub! I'll hold him, you freeze him! Cyclops and Storm, when he's immobilised, smash him!" called Entity, swooping at the last Sentinel. He used a potent telekinetic field to hold the robot still.

"NOW!" he yelled.

Sub-zero sent waves of ice-energy at the machine, freezing it in place.

"Your turn!" Sub-zero yelled to Storm.

Strom flew up and charged a bolt of lightening whilst Cyclops took his visor off completely.

With an explosion that shook the ground, Storm's lightening and Cyclops's energy beam shattered the robot into thousands of small parts that rained down upon them like snow.

"Niiiice," commented Sub-zero, admiring the scorched ground and molten metal.

Cyclops replaced his visor and both Storm and Entity floated back to the ground.

"I think we ought to leave before more arrive," suggested Entity, turning around and heading for the jet.

"No arguments there," replied Sub-zero, following him inside.

"Good job team," commented Cyclops, walking into the jet and sitting himself down in the pilot seat of the jet. Sub-zero rolled his eyes and sat down heavily in the chair behind Storm's.

Entity sat down last in the corner seat at the back, secluding himself from the others and gazing blankly out of the window as the engines roared to life.

"Engaging stealth mode," informed Cyclops, flicking a switch above him. The jet cloaked and the sound of the engines dimmed as they rose into the air. With a slight screech, the engines flared and the vehicle raced into the distance, leaving Grantham, leaving England and heading back home.

**My first ever X-men Fanfiction. ****Loosely**** based on the X-men Legends Games but set just after Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Later chapters may answer any questions you have regarding the story and/or characters. If you have a question that's just too urgent to wait though, e-mail me and I'll be happy to try and answer.**

**I do not own anything from the Marvel Universe. I own the characters in my story that do not appear in the Marvel Universe. I own the story line and certain places in the story. Providing you ask my permission first, I would be happy for you to include my characters in a story of yours. If you don't enjoy my story, don't tell me and go read something else.**

**Just so you know, this story will probably contain many crossovers and/or items/characters from different things. If you don't like the crossovers... just don't tell me and go read something else that you **_**do **_**like.**

**Well, with that out of the way, I really hope you enjoy this story and please read 'n' review the chapters :) **

**P.S. There are some chapters that will be written by my friends rather then me (It's a joint effort). I'll let you know at the start of those certain chapters that it wasn't written by me.**

**Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2, TheFirstDayOfTheRestOfHisLife

**The First Day Of The Rest Of His Life**

Resurfacing. That's what it felt like. It felt like his mind had been submerged underwater and was now rushing to the top like a pocket of air. Slowly, feeling began to return to his limbs and he recalled events that had taken place.

"_Stay away from me!" he had yelled at the approaching figures before turning and running for his life. They were following him. He could see them trying to keep up but every few seconds there was a loud bang and the feeling of falling before he found himself considerably further away from them, as if he'd blinked and missed parts of his escape route._

_He had been heading for the fields. Then that feeling... the feeling of sleep... It took over and he'd fallen... but where? Where?_

His lips began to mime the word as he asked himself over and over again where he was. The urge to open his eyes was powerful, but the force holding them shut was even more so. Stephen struggled for minutes before he managed to flicker one eyelid open, barely enough to view his surroundings.

"_Silver... metal?...That sound... machines... Hospital?" _His brain was still re-activating and every thought caused a wave of dizziness.

"_Wake up, young man." _

The thought was not his, but felt as if it had been forced into his subconscious by some other being. The voice was male and, judging by the accent, was British. It's intrusion had a major effect on him, jolting his brain and sending confused, scared thoughts swimming around inside his head. These emotions sent a sudden burst of emergency energy to his limbs and forced his eyes open. He was alert, and prepared for another attack.

"_Please remain calm, I do not mean you any harm," _the voice continued, accompanied by a relaxed, peaceful feeling.

Stephen half leapt into a sitting position on the bed and searched the room for the source of the noise, determined that the voice must be being emitted by something in the room and not, in fact, being sent into his mind.

Empty.

There were no signs of anyone in the room other then himself. He examined the room he was in. A large, silvery medical facility, obvious from the machinery and the equipment. The floor was made up of metal silver tiles and the walls were similar, but darker grey. A circular door with an 'X' in the centre was on the far wall and seemed to be the only way out.

"What's going on?" Stephen called, eyes whipping around the room for any sign of movement, "Where am I?!"

"_You are perfectly safe, Stephen, and providing you listen I shall explain everything," _the voice replied.

"How are you talking to me? There's no one here!" queried the boy, still scrutinising his surroundings.

"_As I mentioned before, I shall explain everything,"_ the second the voice stopped, the circular door at the far side of the room slid open and through it came a smartly dressed man in a wheelchair.

He had no hair but his eyes were a penetrating blue and his face was neatly angled. His blue suit was contrasted by the red tie he wore and fastened to this tie was a small gold 'X' in a circle. This symbol was becoming increasingly common in Stephen's life.

The man stopped at the side of Stephen's bed and fixed him with a searching stare. Stephen did not know why, but he felt this man was reading him like a book.

"W-..Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here? How do you know my name and when will you let me go?" Stephen asked in a bumbling rush of speech.

The man smiled and raised his hand for Stephen to stop, "Slow down. If you're planning on me answering your questions, you need to let me talk as well, you know." He didn't seem at all angry but rather noble, like a teacher of sorts.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier and this is my school for gifted and talented youths, such as yourself," he explained, gesturing around the room.

"This doesn't look like a school," whispered Stephen, still cautious about the man before him.

"That's because you are currently in the medical laboratory, beneath the school. The section you are now in is referred to as the Sub-basement," he continued.

Stephen dismissed the information with a shake of his head and asked his next question, "Why am I here?"

"You're here for possible guidance and also for your own protection," Xavier said, leaning back in his wheelchair and pressing his fingertips together.

"Protection? From what? Those people... those things that were following me?" asked Stephen, referring to the two guys that chased him through Grantham.

Xavier chuckled before continuing, "My boy, 'those things' are people too. They were the ones trying to protect you. I think it might be best if you followed me."

He turned around and headed for the door. Stephen, more questions begging to be asked, followed him, taking a few moments to get his leg muscles working and his balance sorted.

The door hissed shut behind them and Stephen found himself surrounded by more metal panels, this time forming a corridor. Xavier made his way through a door at the end of the hall and Stephen followed closely, not wanting to be left behind.

They had entered a small chamber packed full of strange computers. Large monitors displayed strange, virtual images of human bodies and every now and then would indicate a section of the body that was taking strain or damage.

Other monitors displayed energy output diagrams and stats screens, all of them bleeping occasionally and making low droning sounds. Xavier approached a large window at the front of the room and indicated for Stephen to come over to him.

"The boys that you encountered today are students of mine. I sent them to get you before the anti-mutant forces could reach you," he explained.

"Anti-mutant forces?" Stephen repeated, sounding dazed, "But how could they find me? How would they know where I was? I ran for ages and I never stopped... how did they... I never did anything to them... or anyone else..."

"Calm down. They knew because they have technology which enabled them to scan for mutant DNA. They've had you targeted for over a month and they would have captured you today unless we had intervened," Xavier informed, staring out of the large window whilst he spoke.

Stephen stood in silence, allowing the information to sink in. He stared solemnly at his blue furry hands, gazing at the reason his life would never be the same again. He had know that he was different for about a week. He had been at school when it had started, all of a sudden he'd begun to grow thin blue fur across his entire body and he kept finding himself in the strangest locations for no apparent reason at all. The next few days he had spent running from everything, desperately trying to escape from the world. His mind was aflame, burning with thousands of questions and curiosities but at that very moment in time, one concern was of highest importance, "What about my family? Won't they go after them?"

"Not to worry, we have sent a team to look after your family and friends. They shall be perfectly safe," Xavier comforted, before his attention was drawn to the activities on the other side of the window once more.

"So what are _you _going to do to me?" asked Stephen, taking a hesitant step forwards, curious as to what was so interesting on the other side of the glass window but still aware that he may be in danger.

"That depends on you," Xavier stated before continuing in order to answer Stephen's questioning expression, "If you agree to it, I would very much like you to join my school."

"I don't understand... You want to help me by sending me to school?" asked Stephen, trying not to be impolite but unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"My boy, surely you have realised that this is no ordinary school?" asked the Professor, turning to face him.

"Well... it's a school for the intelligent... so... it's bound to be different from other schools...," Stephen said, folding his arms in an apprehensive manner.

"Stephen, this is a school for mutants. We help develop and train mutants of all ages, teaching them to control their powers and eventually, master them so that they are used responsibly," Xavier explained with a warm smile.

Stephen stood in disbelief, unable to think of anything to say until finally, "Gifted...?"

"Exactly," Xavier confirmed.

"So... you want to teach me how to... be a mutant?" asked Stephen, staring at the floor next to Xavier.

"I want to teach you how to control your abilities and use them correctly," Xavier verified, turning back to the screen.

"Is everyone here a mutant?" asked Stephen, taking a step closer. He had listened to the Professor's previous sentence, but he'd not yet acknowledged it.

"Yes," the Professor answered.

"Are you a psychic?" Stephen queried further, edging closer.

"Your conclusion is correct. I am telepathic. That is how we were able to find you and that is how I knew your name. I must ask you not to be alarmed at the fact that I can see into your mind. I believe that, unless the person in question gives you permission, a mind should not be intruded," Xavier informed, his polite smile never leaving his face.

Stephen's mind was swimming. Everything from the past few days was frantically hurtling through his head and it made him feel sick.

"S-so... why are we here?" asked Stephen, remembering Xavier's instructions to follow him.

"The room you are in now is the control unit for a special training chamber that has become know amongst the students as the Danger Room. Using advanced holographic technology and equipment, created by one of the tutors at this facility, this room enables us to teach students how to defend themselves against different dangers in different environments. Despite safety protocols, the dangers faced in the Danger Room are quite realistic, as the bruises of pupils can attest. This window allows us to watch the chamber's occupants and make sure things don't get out of hand," Xavier explained slowly, as a bright flash erupted from behind the glass panel.

"Woah... so it's like a virtual reality training room?...Wow...," Stephen's eyes grew wide with awe as he re-examined the technology around him. He began to think back to his question, realising that Xavier hadn't actually answered it.

"I've brought you here to meet the people who brought you to us," Xavier said, as if he's heard Stephen's question again.

Stephen, his curiosity getting the better of him, walked over to the window cautiously and peered down. Stretched out before him was a large circular chamber built with metal. The entire place was alive with machines and Stephen could only watch with amazement.

Long mechanical arms reached out of the walls and thumped the ground. Rotating razor-blades fired from the ceiling and hovered around the ground searching for targets. Gigantic cannons protruded from the floor and sent blasts of light in the direction of any movement that wasn't caused by machine. The floor it's self seemed alive and kept raising up in platforms and then falling away again, leaving a gaping hole.

"Oh.. My... God...," he mumbled, staring in partial horror and partial admiration.

An explosion from within the chamber snapped Stephen out of his trance. A gigantic orange ball of flames erupted from the centre of the room and dispersed when it hit the ceiling. As he looked closer, two figures could be seen in the centre, leaping and dodging long metallic tentacles as they swiped at them.

"This seems a bit excessive for a training session...," murmured Stephen, watching the two in their fantastic display of agility.

"There is one more thing I feel I ought to mention," Xavier said, turning back around to the boy, "This institute is also the home of a specialist mutant team called the X-men."

Professor spent almost half an hour explaining to Stephen more and more about the facility and the X-men, from ancient history to the possible near future. It would have been obvious to any one watching that the young boy was captivated. Lost in a world that he never even knew was there. It's ironic in a sense... how people refuse to accept the existence of such things but complain about how dull they find life.

This was one more life, at least, that was now open to the impossible. The thick layer of lies and self-deception that cloud the human brain had been peeled away to reveal the underlying mainstream of a world unknown.

The simulation in the Danger Room ended and the machines disappeared into nothing, now replaced by a series of robotic opponents.

"So this is combat training?" asked Steve, gesturing towards the simulation.

"Yes, it is. You're catching on fast," smiled Xavier, using a nearby console to enter a difficulty level.

"So if a mutant has a power level of ten but a mutant class of two, what happens then?" he asked again, remembering the Professor's explanation of mutant categories.

"The console would be set to a mutant class of two but the power settings would be increased," explained Xavier, pleased that Stephen was taking such an interest in the mechanisms of the Danger Room.

"So who are they? The people who brought me here?" asked Stephen, leaning against the screen in an attempt to get a better look at them.

"The taller of the two is Thomas, codenamed Sub-zero. He has the ability to generate and manipulate ice, rather like one of his mentors, Iceman. However, he has a second ability. He is able to manipulate his skeletal structure slightly, enabling him to generate solid spikes that he can use as projectiles and armour," the Professor said, bringing up a stat screen of Sub-zero on the monitor before him.

There was another explosion from the training session and all the enemies around Tom had been completely frozen. He then proceeded to fire a number of spikes at the statues, splintering them.

"'_Cool_' guy, by the sounds of it," quipped Stephen, grinning as the sequence progressed.

"Quite. I warn you, he dislikes puns directed at him and his powers, so be careful," warned Xavier, changing the stat screen to display the slightly shorter mutant.

"This is Matthew, codenamed Entity. His powers are still developing, due to interference when they first manifested, but they appear to be psychic," Xavier informed, but there was a tone in his voice that Stephen couldn't quite identify. Was it concern? Fear? Worry? He couldn't tell, but it formed a question in his head which his mind forced him to ask.

"What do you mean by interference?" he asked.

Xavier remained quiet for a moment before replying with evident apprehension, "I don't think it is my place to explain it to you. Besides, he knows better then I do. You ought to ask him when you can."

"Maybe I will...," Stephen mumbled, more to himself then to anyone else.

Xavier leaned forwards and picked up a microphone from the console.

"Entity, Sub-zero, I have someone here who would like to meet you. Meet us in the control booth please," he asked before switching it off and gazing out at them. The sequence buzzed offline and the two figures began walking to the exit.

Within minutes, the door to the booth slid open and the two boys walked in, standing curiously at the sides of the entrance. Stephen cast them an awkward wave as he was unsure how to greet two people that he had forced to chase him across an entire town.

"Matthew, Thomas, I would like you to meet Stephen. He's shown a great interest in the institute thus far," Xavier introduced them.

"Hi," Tom greeted, waving is hand slightly.

Matthew simply blinked and gave a slight nod to acknowledge his presence. The instant their eyes met, Stephen felt a cold chill race up his spine. Something about the boy seemed disturbing. Though he was young, his eyes seemed so much older... as if he'd read a thousand libraries' worth of books. Perhaps it was simply the way he looked, or perhaps it was Stephen's uncanny ability to pick up on things, but there was a mysterious darkness surrounding the guy... something not quite right.

Noticing Matthew's frown, Stephen stopped staring at him and directed his attention elsewhere, but he could feel the look of curiosity he was receiving from Entity.

"Tom, could you please escort Stephen up to the spare dormitory? I'm afraid you'll have to stay a while until your home is deemed safe for your return, Stephen. Until then, please consider my offer," Xavier smiled again and left the room, followed slowly by Entity.

"Well, follow me then, I suppose," chirped Tom, leading Stephen out of the door and back into the extensive metal corridors that made up the sub-basement. They turned left and headed straight down the hall to a set of square doors that ground open slowly to reveal an unexpected surprise.

The doors led to an elevator sized room, but more unusual then that was it's decoration. The floor was made up of black and white tiles that one might find in a kitchen. A dark oak panelling covered half of each wall and above them were deep green walls that seemed that they belonged to an old Victorian mansion rather then a high-tech mutant school.

"Are you getting in or not," asked Tom, looking at Stephen with a confused expression, "Oh, right... you'll see why the elevator's different from the rest of this place once you ride it to the top."

"Ooookay...," mumbled Steve, stepping onto the tiled floor, half expecting them to crack. They looked incredibly fragile.

The doors hissed shut and the pair began to move upwards in the strange little box.

"So... ," began Sub-zero, "how much did Professor X tell you?"

Stephen thought for a moment before replying, "He told me all about the X-men and about how this school helps mutants to control their powers..."

"So what'dya think?" asked Tom, smiling at him with a look of excitement.

"I think it's the coolest thing I ever heard of," Steve replied, grinning at the floor. He still felt like he was trapped in some sort of surreal dream, but he was enjoying it. If it was a dream, he hoped he wouldn't wake up for at least a little longer.

"Takes some getting used to though, huh?" Tom stated, nudging Steve slightly.

"Nah, this kinda thing happens to me all the time," joked Stephen, with a look of mock-experience.

Tom chuckled quietly before replying, "Yup..., you'll fit in just fine. We could always use another funny-guy... mind you, Iceman won't like the idea of competition."

"Haven't you been here long then?" asked Stephen, fixing Tom with a questioning glance.

"Ah...aaabout three weeks... I think," he replied, thinking hard, "You kinda loose track of time when you lead such a hectic lifestyle. I thought I had trouble getting homework done _before _I was an X-man."

"So how did you find your powers?" the younger boy asked, curious.

"Eeerm... kinda the same way you did. One minute I'm in school, next minute the entire corridor is frozen and I have robots chasing me across the entire fucking country...," he replied, making crude gestures with his hands the whole time he was talking.

"So how did you end up here?" Steve asked again.

"Curious guy, aren't you," he said before continuing, "Entity found me while I was hiding in an alley. We got jumped by more Sentinels (which are the mutant hunting robots by the way) and after taking out one or two he grabbed my arm and we ran some more until we reached the X-jet (that's our primary mode of transport) and then he flew me over here, to Salem Centre, New York."

"Hang on... we're in America?!" Stephen asked, eyes wide and mouth slacking slightly.

Tom smiled again as Stephen absorbed the info before continuing, "I trained up for the next few days and then I got me a place in the X-men, kicking evil ass! Of course, after my recruitment was when Xavier formed the European team..."

The younger boy looked impressed. After allowing the shock of being in another country all of a sudden sink in, he continued, "What are Entity's powers then?"

"Oh...," Tom muttered, standing in silence for a while longer before speaking, "Eeeerm... no one really knows. Something happened a while back which changed him and no one really knows the extent of his new abilities..."

At that moment, the doors slid open to reveal the underside of a large, grand oak staircase. The floor was of the same posh, wooden quality and the walls wore the same, oak panelling as the elevator walls.

"Holy...," Stephen was lost for words. The sudden contrast of the two floors was confusing, but now Stephen could recognise it as a school. Just a really posh, expensive-looking school.

"Welcome to the X-mansion," Tom said, patting Steve on the back and enjoying his reaction.

They stepped forwards, out from under the stair case and into the entrance hall. The large oak doors on the wall in front of the stairs presumably lead to the mansion's front grounds. A rich, yellowed light was being cast by the wall lamps, making the entire place seem like a home, instantly. The ticking of a clock could be heard in the distance and the dull murmur of people drifted through the halls.

Tom lead Stephen through an doorway in the wall behind them, to the left of the elevator. Stephen followed and found them standing in a small sitting room with black and white tiles covering the floor. On the wall at the far end of the room as another large door that predictably lead to the back garden.

In the middle of the room were two long sofas facing each other. On one of these sofas, a small boy sat reading a booklet titled, 'Tae Kwon Do Terminology-The Language Behind The Moves'. He had short blond hair and slightly large front teeth. His soft blue eyes scanned the pages of the booklet quickly and his thin lips mimed the words he was reading.

Tom leaned over and whispered in Stephen's ear, "That's Entity's little brother, Liam. He's the youngest one of us, only nine years old. His codename's Hex 'cuz he can control some aspects of probability. But we call him 'Mini-Magneto', because he can also manipulate magnetic fields. It's really weird... his powers are identical to two members of the Brotherhood (they're a group of mutant terrorists), but he bears no relation to them whatsoever."

"Magneto? That's the guy that covered Earth with asteroids some time back... isn't it?" asked Steve.

"Bingo... and his daughter is the 'Scarlet Witch', who can manipulate probability. Liam has both powers but like I said, he's not related to them in any way, shape or form," Tom explained.

"Isn't Magneto dead?" Steve asked, scratching the back of his head as he watched the little boy on the sofa.

Tom watched the boy for a few seconds before replying, "Nope, Old Rusty's out there somewhere... but there's been no sign of him for months."

Stephen regarded this answer with curiosity, "So does that mean he's given up?"

Tom rolled his eyes, "Pff, I doubt Magneto's ever going to give up," He turned around and pointed down the hall to his right, "Down there is the Library. Door to the left leads to the classroom and the door to the right leads to Xavier's office," he turned and pointed up the hall to his left, "Up there is just a corridor but the door on the right hand side of that corridor leads to the lounge. The door on the left hand side leads to the dining room."

Stephen nodded, noting the information as best he could.

Tom pointed to his left agin, but at a door to them, "That door leads to the kitchen." He then pointed to a closer door on his right, "That door leads to the downstairs bathroom."

Tom walked back through the doorway they had entered through and stood in front of the stair case, "Up there, you can see another elevator door but either side of that there are two smaller doors. The one on the left leads to Xavier's room, the one on the right leads to the cupboards. If you follow me, I'll take you to your room."

They went quickly up the stairs and down the corridor on the left. Five doors down they reached Stephen's temporary dormitory and they both entered.

"This will be you're room if you decide to stay. Feel free to wander round but be careful if you go into the sub-basement. My room's a couple of doors up from here. If you go in, I'll kill you Also, various students will be wandering around and you're new here so they won't be expecting a blue fuzzy kid to pop round a corner at them. Don't get all emotional in you get screamed at and ran away from," Tom explained dryly before waving his hand and closing the door behind him.

Stephen stood in the middle of the room. It was a fair size and very homely. He wandered over to the bed and laid down, closing his eyes and thinking the day through, from it's unusual start to it's even stranger middle... but it was far from over yet.

**This chapter probably isn't as good as it could have been, but hey, I'm tired...**

**Once again, I own the characters that you don't see in the Marvel Universe but ask my permission first and I'd be happy to let you use them. Stay tuned for the next chapter, unless you're really bored already.**


	3. Chapter 3, Positives And Negatives

**A Glimpse In To The Darkness**

Stephen awoke half an hour later in a daze. The past week was a blur and at first seemed like a dream. For those few precious seconds, Steve thought that he was a perfectly normal human being. It was only after he ran his hand through his hair discovered his face was covered in it that he snapped back to harsh reality.

With a sigh, he sat up and looked over at the silver clock on the bedside table. He's been asleep for just over thirty minutes. Rubbing his eyes, he lifted himself from the bed and stretched, groaning as his back clicked. He stood there for half a second, wandering what to do before deciding to wander over to the window and take a look at the grounds.

Through the thick glass of his window, a well-kept green garden seemed to go on for miles. There were brilliant colours in the flower beds that ran the perimeter of the lawn and archways made from coloured vines created entrances to the front and back gardens (what Steve was seeing now was the side garden).

In the centre of the garden Stephen observed was a large, pale, concrete circle with two stone benches in it's centre. On one of these benches sat a student, dressed in dark clothing, reading peacefully. Stephen looked closer, his eyes focussed on the student's face. Even at this range he could tell by the blank expression that this student was Entity.

An impossibly fast flicker of movement caused Steve to frown in confusion. He stared at the mysterious boy, searching his brain for an explanation. Surely it hadn't been what it had looked like? Was it? For that split second, Was that a _tail?_

It was then that he realised that Entity was looking directly at him, as if Steve had opened the window and yelled his name, except his expression was that of slight annoyance and not the questioning gaze one would receive if they called someone from a first story window.

Stephen jolted away from the window and shivered. He still found the guy disturbing.

Xavier's words ran through Stephen's head once again,

"_I don't think it is my place to explain it to you. Besides, he knows better then I do. You ought to ask him when you can."_

Stephen glanced quickly out of the window once more and wasn't very surprised to find Entity was still staring at him. He backed away and headed for the door, closing it behind him quietly. He looked up and down the hall, half expecting to be run over as if he were crossing a road. Seeing no-one, he walked quickly down the hall towards the stairs, peeking over the banister to make sure the coast was clear.

A woman with long red hair and bright green eyes was talking to a man wearing strange red sunglasses. She seemed to be explaining something to him with a look of concern. It was a fully three minutes before they walked in the direction of what Stephen remembered to be the library. As soon as they left, he bolted down the stairs and ran for the front door, stopping before he reached the sitting room in order to check for any more people.

A man with a long brown trench coat and a metal staff in his gloved hand was talking to a rather defiant looking woman with brown and white hair. Luckily, they were at the end of a corridor so Stephen's journey past them was easy.

'BAMF!'

All of a sudden he found himself in front of the doors, but couldn't remember how he got there. He was sure he hadn't walked...

"Kurt? That you, Suga?" called a female voice with a heavy southern accent.

Panicking, Steve opened the door and hopped through it before they could get to him, slamming it behind him.

"This is crazy...," he mumbled to himself.

"Hey there! You the new guy?" asked a young, female voice from behind him.

"WAH!" he gasped, whipping round to find a girl (a few years older then him, by the looks of it) wearing a yellow coat and pink blast goggles. Her short black hair spiked up in many directions and she extended a blue-gloved hand in an attempt at a formal greeting.

"My name's Jubilee. What's your-?" but before she could finish, a loud 'BAMF!' split the air and Stephen found himself at the other end of the garden, near the side garden's entrance.

Choosing to ignore the little incident, putting it to the back of his mind so that he had something to think about later, Stephen walked calmly into the side lawn and made his way up the path towards the stone benches where Entity still sat, patiently.

Steve wandered over to the bench opposite and sat down carefully, not disturbing Entity's reading until he decided to attempt a conversation, "Hi."

Entity sat silent, his eyes racing down the page he was on with spectacular speed. He was obviously a very fast reader. Steve examined the book's cover. The book Matthew was reading, titled 'Eragon', was one that Stephen had read quite a few times. Determined to find out more about Entity, Steve decided to use this to base a conversation on.

"That's a good book," he commented, indicating with his finger at the title.

Entity remained quiet. Flicking the page over and beginning to read on.

"Not one for conversation then?" Stephen asked, shrugging.

Another awkward silence followed, broken only by the sound of birds in the distance and a faint murmur from within the school.

"_Correct,"_ a voice sounded in his head after what seemed like minutes.

Stephen froze, staring wide eyed at the boy in front of him, not sure what to say next. Entity had fixed him with a blank, but piercing gaze.

"You're telepathic...," Stephen concluded finally, slowly melting out of his sudden shock.

Entity gave him an informative look before replying, "Yes."

"That's how you knew I was looking at you?" asked Steve, nodding towards his window.

"I over heard your mind. I apologise for intruding," he replied dryly, returning his attention to his book.

"S'okay," Steve said quietly, not really caring, "So, you're an Eragon fan?"

"I would hardly define myself as being a _'fan' _of Eragon. I've read a great deal of books over time and I find that the books written by Christopher Paolini are a good example of the 'Fantasy' category," Entity explained, not removing his attention from the text.

"Oh really?" began Steve, smirking slightly, "Who's your favourite character?"

Entity seemed to reply without thinking, "Saphira-"

"Aha! So it's not just a good example of fantasy!" Steve exclaimed, grinning.

Entity fixed him with an incredibly dark look. For no apparent reason, a flowerpot next to Stephen's bench violently exploded in a shower of soil and ceramic, "If you're talking to me for any reason at all, hurry up and make your point, then leave."

Stephen seemed a little taken aback by Matthew's sudden hostility, "Sorry... I didn't mean to offend you..."

"You didn't offend me, you're just getting on my nerves," he replied, flicking over the page in his book.

Stephen took a moment to regret even coming outside before he continued, "I came to ask what your abilities are."

Entity did not look up, but simply murmured, "It's a long story."

"I've got time," replied Stephen, sitting back in the stone bench and folding his arms neatly.

"I don't," came the reply.

"Who does?" asked Stephen, shrugging again.

"If you're looking for answers, try the X-men biographies. They're stored on Beast's computer in the Science laboratory," Entity suggested, closing his book and standing up.

"What if Beast's busy?" called Stephen.

"Then wait," Entity called back, disappearing around the corner.

Ten minutes later, after avoiding as many people as he could, Stephen found himself in the mansion's sub-basement. More specifically, he found himself inside Beast's Lab and at his computer terminal.

He muttered to himself quietly as he browsed the computer's memory, "Entity... Entity... where are you? Jees, you try finding out who you're around and the computer's deny you access... AH! There we go!"

Steve opened a page containing masses of text and, scrolling down, found a section titled 'Entity'. A message at the side of the page suggested that the reader ought to follow the link and read up about a subject known as 'The Phoenix Force.' Stephen Followed the link and read, unsure of what to think as he absorbed the info. However, Stephen had a knack for understanding and remembering scraps of information that later became important so he skim read, picking up on many important facts. When he had finished, he returned to Entity's bio and began to read.

'_A mysterious student with a dark and questionable past, sealed expertly away within the depths of his mind where not even Professor Xavier himself could reach. All that is known is what you will find here._

_**Section One**_

_We know so far (Based upon sessions of hypnosis between Xavier and Entity) that upon the creation of the Phoenix Force in our reality, a negative incarnation of the force was created in reality's attempt to 'balance the equation'. This version, feared for it's potential, was quickly fought and then contained. After centuries of captivity, the force somehow broke free and escaped the entire dimension, beginning a search for it's Positive Incarnation in an attempt to heal itself from the damage it had sustained._

_Meanwhile, it's Positive Incarnation (After bonding permanently with Jean Grey) was turned evil due to corruption of it's human vessel. This change forced the Negative Phoenix Force to alter itself and become a force of Good rather then Evil. Later, after The Positive Incarnation was reverted back to it's original self, both incarnations of the Phoenix Force entered a state of Flux. Both incarnations would constantly alternate between being good or evil. Wether the forces manifested themselves or not was based entirely on the human host._

_**Section Two**_

_During the time of Entity's powers' early development and sub-sequential in-stability, the negative incarnation of the Phoenix Force had entered our galaxy and detected the activation of psychic abilities capable of sustaining it. It located Entity and bonded immediately in order to repair itself after crossing through dimensions, space and time. _

_Seeking help, Entity's online searches led him to the Xavier Institute for higher Learning where he developed control over the dormant, but awakening, Phoenix. Similar to the X-man Jean Grey, whenever Entity over exerted himself, or when under severe emotional pressure, the Phoenix's powers manifested themselves and he became an unstable being of incomprehensible power._

_Because of the Negative Phoenix, Entity is forced to keep his emotions under strict control. If he were to unleash his anger, the Negative Phoenix would force Entity to assume the personality of the Dark Phoenix and the entire universe would be placed in extreme danger._

_His control over his emotions has improved over time, but he is constantly involved in a fierce mental battle for dominance with the Negative Phoenix. _

**Section Three**

_Un-known to anyone, the intervention of the Negative Phoenix on the day Entity's powers first emerged had delayed a second ability. This ability has not yet emerged and is therefore unknown, but blood sampling and DNA tests have confirmed the presence of a secondary ability._

Stephen read with a look of both fascination and an apologetic sorrow.

"_That's why he'd been so blunt and emotionless... his powers are coupled with his emotions,"_ he thought, as the doors to the lab opened and the X-man known as Beast entered.

"Stephen? It's nice to see you've taken an interest in the mansion's extensive facilities. May I ask what information you are browsing through currently?" he asked, placing a number of documents on his desk.

"Hey Mr Mcoy. I was just reading up about Entity... He seems to have a bit of a schizophrenia problem..," replied the boy, closing the computer down.

"Hmmm... Quite," replied Beast, rather bluntly.

Stephen frowned and thought for a while before speaking again, "So basically, from what I've read, Entity's emotions are strongly attached to his powers... so if he loses control, he turns evil?"

"You understand correct. Entity's abilities are what we in the mutagenic field refer to as 'emotionally derived'. The power from a simple emotion can manifest it's self as energy, or a mutant ability in certain cases. Entity's powers are dangerously off the scale, therefore a lapse in emotional control could result in disaster," Beast explained, filing the documents in a small silver cabinet in the corner of the room.

"What do you mean by 'off the scale'?" asked Stephen, standing up and hooking his thumbs into his pockets.

"Well," he began, closing the drawer of the cabinet and starting to clear space at a workbench that was cluttered with bottles, chemicals and other scientific items, "Mutants have power scales. These power scales are based upon their mutant class. You know about the scaling process?"

"Yes," replied Stephen, nodding his head, "Levels one to five. Level ones are common but the higher up the classes you go, the less mutants there are of those classes. Class five being the rarest."

"Jean Grey and Entity are the only two known class five mutants on the planet. Anyway, each mutant class has a power scale from one to twenty. Class one has a power scale of one to twenty, class two has a power scale of one to twenty and so on and so forth. All of these classes combined give us a total range of one to one hundred. Both Entity and Jean's power levels are _over_ twenty, meaning their score our of the total one hundred would be _over _the limit..." Beast explained with numerous glances over his shoulder as he packed the flasks and chemicals away.

Stephen regarded the information with a mixture of both shock, and fear.

"What, exactly, is he capable of?" Stephen asked, slowly, as if afraid of being heard.

Beast finished packing the items away and turned to face Stephen. He folded his arms and assumed a serious expression before explaining, "His _known_ powers...," he paused, searching his brain for the right way to say it, "The abilities that the Negative Phoenix grants him are Telekinesis, telepathy, pyrokinesis, empathy, astral projection, extra-sensory perception, clairvoyance, precognition, mastery over cosmic energy, manipulation of time-streams, manipulation of dimensions and numerous molecular based abilities. The latter of these abilities are still developing and it is known that, unless the Negative Phoenix is allowed moderate control over Entity's mind, he is unable to perform these feats."

Stephen stood in silence. He was unsure what to say or do at that moment in time, as the amazement and horror caused mixed thoughts to form inside his mind.

"He isn't the only one with abilities that amaze," Beast pointed out. Steve looked up at him with a look that asked him to continue.

"Sub-zero can lower his body temperature to a level known as Absolute Zero. At this temperature, the very molecules of a being are practically vaporised and replaced by solid ice. He hasn't been able to achieve this level yet, but training in the Danger Room has enabled me, based upon calculations, to determine the extent of his abilities," Beast explained, smiling at Steve's dizzy expression.

"I have also been monitoring you as you journeyed across the mansion grounds via teleportation," he smiled, his fangs gleaming in the light.

"Don't explain the teleporting, just in case...," Steve warned, unsure of the extent of his own powers.

"If you are as similar to Nightcrawler as you appear, you do not actually teleport. It's fascinating, really. You pass into another dimension where time moves much faster but you exit the dimension when you emerge in your next location, thus it appears you have 'teleported'," Beast went on, turning back to a small computer to begin analysing some sort of mixture.

"Yay...," murmured Stephen, half heartedly. He felt a little under impressed at his own abilities compared to the others, but the disappointment quickly disappeared, because his next question was far more important...


	4. Chapter 4, Joining The Family

**Joining The Family**

"Beast, do you think I should join the school?" asked Steve, tapping his blue-furred fingers lightly on the metallic surface of the desk.

"Of course. I believe it would be wise for you to undergo an education here at the Xavier Institute simply because it would allow you an education that you wouldn't receive elsewhere," Beast answered, tapping some figures into a nearby computer. If the boy could see the scientist's face, he would have seen an expectant expression slowly spreading...

Stephen was careful with the next question, for it had been nagging at his mind ever since he had woken, "Dr Mccoy, how would I go about joining the X-men?"

Beast turned to him and grinned a knowing smile, "I was wondering when you were going to ask, ever since Entity had suggested it. That's why I've been creating an initiation exam for you in the Danger Room."

Stephen was surprised, but he knew he shouldn't be, "You knew I would join?"

"Well... no, but there was always a possibility, therefore there was need to be prepared for that eventual outcome," he explained, walking over to the door and indicating for Stephen to follow.

"I see... So I have to take an exam?" he asked, curiously, unable to retain his look of excitement.

"Yes. A physical examination in the Danger Room will give us your power level and determine wether you're ready to be one of the team," Beast went on, opening the Danger Room doors to reveal Professor Xavier sitting in his wheelchair, busily loading a program into the computer. Upon Stephen's arrival, he turned around and smiled.

"I had hoped you would choose to stay with us Stephen, but it is entirely up to you. Right now, you have two choices. You can walk back out through that door and wait in your dormitory for the day to end, after which you will be sent back to stay with your parents and live your life. Your second choice is to stay with us, here, at the Institute and learn to use your abilities and harness them for responsible causes. It is up to you," Xavier told him, leaning forwards in his chair and pressing his fingers together, fixing Stephen with a searching gaze, "This decision is yours to make. Be sure it is your wish to do what you choose."

So much had changed in Stephen's life now. Since he turned ten years old he had thought life was going to be bleak and normal. He thought that he would just lead a simple, ordinary life but now that a new route had been opened for him (especially one so rare) his choice was easy to make.

"Professor, I'd like to stay at the Xavier Institute. I'd like you to teach me and I would very much like to become a part of the X-men," Stephen concluded, smiling at Xavier's pleased reaction.

"Excellent choice, my child. I am grateful that you seek an education from us and I will try not to disappoint you," Xavier said to him, quite obviously happy that Stephen had chosen to stay, "As for joining the X-men, we have created a short exercise for you to complete so that we are able to determine your capabilities."

"I understand, Professor," Steve said, nodding slightly.

"The door outside and to the immediate left is the door to the Danger Room. If you'd like to step inside, the examination can begin. Good luck, and be on your guard," Xavier told him, turning back to the console with another grin as Beast led Stephen out.

— A few minutes later ---

The gigantic silver doors slid shut behind him with a hiss. Stephen stood alone in the middle of what had now become a small arena. The only evidence of the world he'd just stepped out of was the spectator's window that hung in mid air in the distance, not too far away.

"**Three... Two... One... You may Begin," **A computerised voice spoke out of nowhere. The arena suddenly flickered to life. A fairly large green robotic opponent appeared out of mid-air and attempted to kick Stephen in the head. Thinking quickly, he back flipped out of the way with agility he didn't even know he had and then leapt at the robot, landing a foot in it's chest and sending it skidding to a halt some three metres away.

"**Generating Opponent," **The voice said again, and two more robots appeared our of thin air. They charged up a form of glowing orange energy between their palms and hurled it at the boy. He swerved to the left and planted his palm into the ground, propelling him into the air in a stunning cartwheel. As soon as he hit the floor, he ran at the first robot and grabbed it around the neck, using it as a shield against the other sentry unit.

After a beam of energy tore through it's circuits, Steve dropped it's body and lunged at the attacking robot with a flying kick. It wasn't too successful and the robot quickly regained balance, attempting to slice Steve apart with a blade that had appeared on it's wrist. Steve ducked and swept his foot at the robots feet, bringing it to the ground in one huge crash.

"**Obstacle course activated," **the computer informed, and the ground melted away. Stephen was left in a narrow corridor that had no floor other then the panel of metal he stood on. Along the corridor, every ten or so metres, were one or two poles jutting out from the wall. As he felt the panel under him begin to fall away, instinctively he reacted by running up the wall to his right.

He reached the first pole this way and grabbed it, looping round it a number of times before kicking off and grabbing the next pole. With both arms, he flipped around it and then spun off onto the next pole and after swinging on this one, jumped up into a backflip and landed expertly on top of the final pole of the section.

Very much in the same way a skilled diver would prepare for a skilful dive, Stephen began to jump off the pole slightly and land back on it, causing it to build momentum. A few more bounces later and he spring-boarded off of the metal and flew through the air, teleporting when he was about a centimetre away from the floorless chasm below him.

He reappeared at the top of another wall and began to run down it. He couldn't help thinking how impressive this must look from a distance, and as the feeling of pride welled up in him, he decided to pull of a series of wall to wall twirls and flips with incomprehensible expertise. In no time, he reached the end of the corridor and discovered he was in another small arena.

"**Generating Opponents," **The computer warned, and five more Danger Room drones were placed around him in a circle.

With no time to even think, Stephen grabbed one's arm and used his tail to wrap around another's leg. He jumped and tripped the one he had by his tail and threw the other one metres away. He grabbed the robot's severed arm and threw it at the third robot. As it hurtled through the air, a glowing red energy formed around it and it then hit the target with a small blast that created a shockwave so powerful, it sent the last two sentries flying.

"What was that?!" he yelled at himself, not really intending it to be answered.

"We just got a reading through... you managed to change the potential energy in that arm into kinetic energy which went into overdrive and exploded," Beast's voice explained, "Gambit would be jealous."

"Can I do it again?" asked Steve, smiling at his new found gift.

"Do try," replied Beast, with a slight hint of humour.

Stephen picked up more shrapnel from the robots he had beaten and began hurling them at the opponents that were appearing. Each time they hit, the target would be sent sprawling back and sometimes explode.

It was after about fifty enemies that he began to find himself beginning to get hurt. After taking down a group of three using a spectacular manoeuver consisting of his legs and tail, one of the robots lifted him by the neck and threw him along the floor.

"O... okay... enough now... please...?" Stephen muttered into the communicator, rubbing his back.

"You've done an exemplary job, Stephen. Come and see us in the booth and we can show you how you did," Xavier spoke over the intercom.

"On my way," he replied, running towards the large set of doors that had appeared behind him.

—Later that evening ---

"Stephen, I am very pleased to inform you that your performance was outstanding. I am delighted to extend you an invitation to the X-men, you'll be a valuable asset to the group should you accept," Xavier told him a few moments later in the control room. Both were smiling, but Stephen was overjoyed.

"Do... Do I get a cool codename?" he asked, grinning madly at his achievement.

Xavier chuckled before continuing, "Of course you do. Try to reflect your abilities through your name, though, as I hardly think it will be very effective if your codename bears no relevance to you."

"I have one in mind... How's 'Shadow'?" he asked, his tail wagging behind him.

"Shadow it is. Welcome to the X-men, Shadow," Xavier greeted, shaking Shadow's hand as if he were a new being altogether.

"I'm honoured, sir," Shadow told him, holding Xavier's hand in both of his and still shaking them. Xavier didn't seem to mind, finding Stephen's actions to be both amusing, and expected.

—

As the sun set behind the trees in the distance, Stephen sat on his bed, admiring his new battle suit.

The black material was slightly shiny and the gold 'X' on the belt gleamed in the dull glow of the bedside lamp. All he needed now was a trench coat and he'd look almost exactly the same as the others. He smiled, placing it in a case under his bed, Stephen layed back down and began to think things through once more. He was a super hero... A real-life super hero. If only his friends could see him now. So much had happened in one day... but there was so much more to come... and he couldn't wait to find out.


	5. Chapter 5, To Catch A Ghost

**To Catch A Ghost**

The early morning sun crept somewhat lazily through the thin gap between the curtains. Through this, a narrow beam of golden sunlight stretched out from the window and grabbed at the furniture of the small dormitory.

Shadows seemed to try to escape the clutches of the sun, and retreated to the quiet solitude of the spaces behind the various objects in the room. A gentle snoring occasionally disrupted the room, emanating from the occupant of the small bed. With a groan, the figure lifted themselves out of the warm cacoon of duvets and sat up in the warm glow.

Tom, better known as Sub-zero, rubbed his eyes to free them of sleep and slipped his legs over the side of the bed. His big toe reached the ground and from where it touched, thin webs of ice spread like spilt liquid across the floorboards. He practically slid the rest of the way from his bed, coming to a stop next to his cupboard.

Tom didn't usually spend the night at the mansion, preferring to stay at his own home and then later travel to the school. However, he had been completely exhausted from his training and, quite frankly, couldn't be arsed to go home.

The ice from the floor slowly dispersed and left behind small, melting patches in it's wake. He was jolted out of his trance-like state when a dull rumble shook the building. He dropped into an alert stance and was instantly on guard. He quickly grabbed his costume from the bedpost and struggled to pull it on as he hopped out of the door.

He was so preoccupied, he didn't realise Jubilee standing with her eyebrows raised as he limped, half naked, down the hall. A small grin played across her face and she turned and made her way back to her room, biting her lip gently.

Pulling his gloves on in a hurry, he whacked the elevator door's 'Open' button several times and cursed at the amount of time it took. After what seemed like years to him, the elevator slid open and he practically dove inside as they began to close behind him.

As they opened once more, Tom almost knocked Shadow flying as he hurtled out of nowhere.

"What was that? Earthquake?" Shadow asked, as they both ran in the direction of the Danger Room.

Sub-zero accelerated before replying, "It came from the Danger Room. Someone's in there and we're going to find out who. The Danger Room's soundproofed so either something's gone terribly wrong, or something's gone terribly wrong."

"Understood," Stephen mumbled, rolling his eyes at the un helpful explanation.

They reached the large metal doors of the training room and waited patiently for them to open. As they slid further, a hiss of smoke escaped the control booth, signalling danger.

"Beast?" Stephen asked, in surprise.

The large blue scientist was indeed in the booth and frantically yelling into the speaker, "YOU'RE BREACHING POWER PARAMETERS! SHUT IT OFF!"

Out side of the viewing screen, it looked as if the chamber had been consumed completely by some sort of black hole. Metal tiles were being stripped from the walls and disappeared into the mouth of the wormhole. The control booth was steadily vibrating as the gaping vortex began to buckle. It was then that Stephen and Tom noticed a golden glowing figure in the centre of the room.

"Fascinating," muttered Beast, for loss of anything else to say.

The golden figure reached out for the vortex and with a crushing gesture, the entire breach collapsed into nothing. As soon as the vortex was gone, the figure dropped limply to the ground and stopped glowing, seemingly regaining breath.

"Beast?! What's going on down here?! Was that a _black hole?"_ asked Tom, disbelief and amazement evident in his voice.

"That," began the blue-furred tutor, "Was a breach in the fabric of reality. Something is stuck between dimensions... something that was created in the mind of your friend Entity but was unintentionally brought into existence. Entity suggested we try to bring it out of the dimension it is in, just in case it turns out to be harmful to that dimension."

Stephen interrupted before Tom could speak out, "Entity was trying to pull something out of a different dimension? Isn't that dangerous?"

Beast sighed before replying, "In a sense... I suppose it was rather foolhardy but if it is a danger to anyone, the damage must be undone."

"What about the damage to the Danger Room?" asked Tom, nodding over Beast's shoulder at the wrecked metal and torn walls.

"Why, Master Jenkinson, I'm surprised you asked. Damage like this is the perfect excuse for upgrades," smiled Beast, winking at them.

"Where'd Entity go?" Stephen asked, and jumped when a voice replied unexpectedly.

"Behind you." Entity stood in the doorway. His clothing was slightly singed, but he looked to be in good health.

"Dimensional trouble?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. And it is apparent that you're growing more confident, Shadow," Entity replied, turning and heading down the corridor.

Stephen smiled weakly as the young man disappeared down the hall.

Suddenly, a voice rang in their heads. It was Xavier, and it sounded important.

"_All X-men to the War Room. I repeat, all X-men to the War Room."_

"It's gonna be one of those days," commented Tom, before all three of them exited and disappeared through the doors opposite them.

"Wow..." Steve sighed as he entered the War Room for the first time. The green holographic globe in the centre of the room cast a dull light on the faces of gathered team members and the quietly bleeping consoles around them.

Many of the occupants of the room were unknown to Stephen. There was a relatively muscular man with a roguish look and wolf-like hair stood leaning against a chair. His brown eyes locked on Stephen and his nostrils flared as if he could smell something odd.

A tall woman with flowing white hair and lightly tanned skin stood talking to a red haired lady of the same size. Stephen realised that this was the red haired lady that he's encountered on his little escape attempt.

Another new face was a young girl with brown hair and a childish smile. She stood, spookily enough, in the air and examined them all with tired eyes. Most recognisable was Xavier himself, sat in his chair, behind the globe.

"X-men. We have a mutant in severe need of rescue. I have called you down here so that a team can be assembled and a rescue mission launched," He explained, glancing around the room at the understanding expressions of the room's occupants.

"Three questions," growled the muscular man in a gruff voice, "Where are we off to? What are their powers and who's captured them?"

"She has abilities that are supernaturally based. She can walk through solid surfaces, much the same as Shadowcat, and she is able to manipulate electrical forces. She caused a bit of damage as she tried to escape the Sentinel patrol that attacked her home," Xavier explained, reaching out and touching a location on the globe.

The green Earth swivelled and a section of England was highlighted.

"Back to Britain?" Tom asked, grinning slightly.

"So it would seem," answered Xavier, "I ought to warn you that, untrained as she is, she is still quite dangerous."

"We understand, Professor. Who are you sending?" asked the red-haired woman in a gentle voice that seemed to soothe Stephen out of his attention to the task at hand.

"Cyclops, you select who you would like to partake in the mission," Xavier asked as a well-built man in an odd visor walked in.

"Professor, I think it would be best if the European team handled this. I need you to take a look at this readout. I think we're gonna have more then the one mission and it'll be too tricky for the younger ones," he said, handing a piece of paper to the Professor.

Entity glared at the man with an almost dis-belief.

"I see. A sound plan. You have your mission, X-men. Be on your way and good luck to you," Xavier told the European team as he turned his attention to the slip of paper once more.

Shadow, Entity and Sub-zero left the room without another sound. They made their way to the hangar and the door ground open slowly, revealing a huge black stealth jet and another, slightly smaller aircraft that resembled the first, but was a dark shade of blue.

"How do we know who we're looking for?" Shadow asked, realising that they had no clue who they were after.

"Cerebro locked on the target. All we have to do is follow the signal that'll be transferred to the Jet's computer database," Sub-zero explained as they approached the blue craft.

"Costume," said Entity, not really directing the comment at Stephen, but it made him realise that he was the only one without his suit on.

With a groan, he turned and ran back to the war room (where he kept his costume) with a small yell over his shoulder, "Wait for me!"

—

The engines roared to life and the Jet lifted from the ground. All three mutants sat safely in the cockpit of the vehicle as the wall ahead of them opened to reveal the clear blue sky of Salem Centre, New York.

"Hold on," muttered Entity as he slammed the joystick forwards, giving them a burst of speed that sent them rocketing through the air like a missile.

"So... how fast is this?" asked Stephen, not enjoying the uncomfortable silence that had fallen upon the jet.

"Fast enough to get us the England in under ten minutes. A guy named Reed Richards designed the new engines for this thing," Explained Sub-zero, indicating towards the back of the jet where the sound of the engines created a low rumble, like thunder.

"I've heard of him. He's one of the Fantastic Four. Absolute genius, that guy," Shadow commented, leaning back in his seat, the buckles clinking slightly.

"He hates me," Entity said blankly, staring ahead at the horizon.

These was another awkward silence. Even with the engines in the background, you'd be able to hear a pin drop in the cockpit.

"Why?" asked Stephen, not wanting to be a victim of the dreaded silence that took over every few seconds.

"After Reed designed the engines for this thing, Entity decided to upgrade the engines for the Fantasticar. They're now twice as fast and three times as safe as they were before. Reed's jealous," Sub-zero explained for Entity.

Entity just smiled to himself, slightly and brought the jet into a slight dive, to miss an oncoming plane.

"Sso you're super smart too?" Stephen asked Entity, grinning at the idea of a stroppy Mr Fantastic.

"The Negative Phoenix makes me smart," Entity stated blankly again, but with the hint of smugness.

"I wish I could've seen the look on his face when you made better engines then him," Shadow said, chuckling slightly.

"All you had to do was ask," replied Entity. And all of a sudden, an image appeared in Shadow's head of a scene displaying a gob-smacked Mr Fantastic and the impressed face of Susan Richards, his wife. It was obvious that this scene was being broadcast from Entity's mind and Shadow couldn't help but laugh.

And, incredible though it may seem, Entity laughed slightly as well. Only for a few seconds before he assumed a smug, almost proud expression.

"I knew you weren't all that dull," smiled Stephen, looking out of the window at the clouds that were racing past.

"You don't know me," informed Entity, still smiling, but his eyes darkened and his full attention returned to the journey.

"Well, you've got plenty of time to get to know each other," Sub-zero interrupted, "But right now, what the hell is that Sentinel drop-ship doing all the way out here.

The jet slowed to a hover and shook slightly, making all three of it's occupants uncomfortable.

"The signal's coming from inside it. The target's in there," Tom informed the others, nodding towards the vessel that glided along mere yards away from them.

"Switching to stealth mode. Prepare to board that ship," Entity ordered, flicking a switch above him and then un buckling his seat belt. He moved towards the jet's entrance and looked over at the others, still getting up.

"Take as much time as you want," sighed Entity, staring glumly out of the door window.

"Ready," the two other mutants informed simultaneously.

Entity reached back and grabbed Stephen's wrist, gently, but firmly.

"I hope you don't mind flying," Entity said to him, a small gri playing across his face.

Before Shadow could reply, the door opened and all three of them went into a free fall, beginning a plummet to the inky-blue waters below. After moments of falling (during which, Shadow could've sworn his insides got left behind), Entity began to slow them down until they were floating in mid-air. Sub-zero formed an ice slide and circled them as Shadow dangled from Entity's arm.

"Now, if you could fly too, this would be so much easier," Entity commented, gliding towards the escaping vessel. Sub-zero followed suit and crouched lower on his carpet of bluish ice as he dipped under the flailing Stephen.

His eyes were wide, but his expression was not that of fear, but rather, amazement and exhilaration. The tiny waves in the vast sea underneath them formed small creases in the otherwise perfect surface of the dark blue/grey water. The glittering patches of gold created by the sun were almost too bright to look at, therefore Stephen returned his gaze to the sky above them.

"Th-.. this doesn't happen often!" Stephen called above the roar of the air in his ears.

"Actually, it does," replied Entity, not looking down at Shadow but staring directly ahead at the ship that they were closing on.

"Listen up! We'll land on the deck, force our way down to the control room, shut off any remaining defences and then locate the girl, Understood?" Entity told them, swooping closer to the vehicle.

"Got it!" yelled Sub-zero in response, and he surfed forwards in a sudden surge of speed, approaching the top of the large green Drop-ship fast.

He hit the deck and, with a short roll, was back up on his feet. Instantly, the auto-turret defence system activated and started to fire a round of bullets his way. Thinking fast, he directed his power at the ground and lifted his fist, forming a shield of thick ice.

Entity landed at that moment and dropped Shadow off also. They had no time to move before the turrets directed their attention at them as well and soon all three were under heavy fire. To stop the bullets tearing through them, Entity raised his hands and formed a light blue bubble around all of them. The telekinetic force fields forced the bullets to bounce harmlessly off and hit the metallic ground.

"I can't hold it for long. Sub-zero, spike them. Shadow, locate the control panel that operates these things and make sure that any others are shut down," Entity commanded, and quickly the team responded.

Sub-zero raised his forearm to his face and then swept it down again, sending solid spikes of bone into the chugging machines. With a quick fizz of electrical feedback, they were disabled.

At the same time, Shadow disappeared into thin air with a loud 'Bamf!' and re-appeared moments later holding a broken control panel.

"Okay, lets find a way inside and join these guys for breakfast," Shadow said, grinning enthusiastically.

"You're pretty funny, kid, but leave the humour to Bobby Drake," Sub-zero stated flatly, ignoring the face Shadow pulled.

"When you too are done bitch-fighting, I have a way in," Entity informed them, smiling slightly at the evil look he was receiving from both of them.

Directing his hands at the floor, Entity made a tearing gesture as if he were ripping a pillow open.

The deck shook, and then the metal began to disjoint. The bolts holding the panels together were firing out faster then the bullets from the auto-turrets and after seconds, a huge section of the floor was ripped up to reveal a group of startled guards.

Shadow lunged at them and whipped one in the side of the face with a foot, sending him crashing into the wall and then slumping to the floor. As soon as Shadow landed on the floor, he flip-kicked one in the chin and then landed on the other's shoulders whilst delivering a down punch. Both guards hit the ground.

"Sheesh, he's better then Psylocke!" Sub-zero commented with his eyebrows raised.

"If I told her you said that, she'd kill you both," Entity stated blankly, following Shadow down into the ship.

"Duly noted. Now, where to next?" Sub-zero asked, glancing up and down the thin corridor that they now occupied.

"Use your brain. They're not likely to keep a prisoner near the topside of the ship. We have to dig a little _deeper,_" Entity told them, once more ripping the ground beneath them into shreds of twisted metal.

After dropping into the second level down, it was obvious that security was tighter. Obvious because they were in a small room surrounded by ten armed security drones. Entity dove forwards, Sub-zero to the left and Shadow to the right. Entity came up behind two of them and slammed their heads together, using a mental blast to send them across the room into another guard.

"Three down!" he called to the others.

Shadow whipped his tail in an arc, flooring three more before tearing each of their heads off individually before they could recover.

"I got three!" he called cheerfully, but slightly exasperated.

Sub-zero froze his fist and slammed it into the face of one security drone, whilst freezing the one behind him solid. He shattered the drone and then brought an uppercut into the jaw of the penultimate robot, ripping it's head off.

"Got 'em!" he yelled with a grin.

"Incoming!" Shadow called as the doors to the room opened and six more entered.

"Duck!" Entity ordered as they raised their weapons.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the scene was mapped out in Entity's mind...

"_Three ahead of you-_

_Three robots against three of u- They're about to- weapons raised- The one in front is parallel to the one behind you- do something! Lift them... spin... throw...-"_

Pushing his arms forwards at the two robots to the sides of the one ahead of him, they were forced into the wall. With a grabbing gesture, he lifted the lead security drone into the air and spun him into the group behind him, knocking them over. With a move that resembled an uppercut, but with the fist open and no contact being made, Entity slammed the robots into the ceiling where they stayed for mere seconds before dropping limply to the ground.

"_Three and three- I took six- there's one more- where?- use your eyes!- There! Heading for the door- stop it- destroy it- __**DESTROY IT!"**_

The thoughts flew through his head at light-speed and he raised his hand to the machine that was limping for the door. It seemed suspended in time as it reached for the handle. Small pieces of it began to flake off and moved away as if the entire scene was under water. It was slowly disintegrating... it's molecules where being stripped apart and after a slow five seconds, it had dispersed into thin air.

Entity dropped his hand and sank to his knees, as if he needed to sleep...

"_**Break free!- Let me out!- Trapped for too long-**__**Kill them!- **__Hold it back!- Don't let it out!- __**Release me!- **__Don't listen!- It'll kill them!- __**soon..." **_The voices hissed and whispered through his mind, burning through his thoughts and piercing his soul.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

"_Don't try that power again,"_ he told himself, pulling himself to his feet.

Shadow and Sub-zero were quiet as they watched their ally get groggily to his feet.

"I'm fine," he muttered, massaging his temples gently.

"You haven't recovered from it, have you...," Sub-zero said, his face was grim and dark.

"No... but sitting around doing nothing made me feel worse," Entity replied, not looking Tom in the eye.

"Fair enough... if you need a break, just say-," started Sub-zero, reassuringly, but he was interrupted sharply by Entity.

"I said I'm fine."

He turned around and headed along the hallway, not saying another word.

"What's up with him?" whispered Shadow, his concern evident.

"Eesh... long story involving a fight between two ultra powerful super-beings...," he replied, rubbing the back of his head and following Entity down the hall.

"Fine... be vague," mumbled Shadow in response, rolling his eyes and following them both.

After moments of walking, they came to the ship's prison cells. These special cells are lined with Carbonadium which, might I add (For the sake of any who do not know), is a near unbreakable substance. This special lining was added to the cells so that mutants would stand less of a chance of escaping and most of the time, it worked pretty darn good.

"She's here... the only prisoner...," Entity spoke more to himself rather then the others and continued to wander down the passage.

"Should we check all the cells?" Asked Sub-zero, looking around at the amount of cells there were.

"Better yet, why don't we ask Shadow where she is?" Entity suggested, turning round with an expectant expression on his face.

"How is he going to-?" began Tom, but Shadow cut him off.

"She's there."

As he said it, he pointed to the cell next to Sub-zero and assumed a worried look.

"Stand back. I'll freeze the locks and then you take the door," Sub-zero told Entity, preparing for the disassembly of the door.

"Are you leading or am I?" asked Entity, giving him a questioning look.

"Okay... fine... What would you suggest, oh mighty one?" Sub-zero asked with a mock bow.

Entity regarded him with dark, un approving eyes before replying with a slight smile, "Sub, freeze the locks. I'll get the door."

Sub-zero laughed and sighed before dropping back into a ready position in front of the door.

Two narrow jets of ice hit the hinges and the locks, followed by spikes of bone. The large metal door began to fall towards them but stopped in mid air before hurtling down the hallway, shoved by an invisible force.

Shadow teleported inside and glanced around for the girl, but found nothing.

"I know she's in here but I can't see her!" he whined at the other two, who stepped into the room.

"She can sink through walls. They would've sedated her and in response her body would've tried to defend itself by using her abilities to turn invisible," Entity informed, raising his fingers to his temples and focussing hard. It was difficult for him to focus on the thoughts of a sedated human girl due to the lower thought frequency but after what seemed like half an hour, the body of what looked like a thirteen year old girl flickered into view.

"Oh...," Entity mumbled as he looked at her.

Shadow raised his eyebrows, which came dangerously close to disappearing in the mess of dark blue hair on his head.

"I know her," Entity spoke, again, more to himself then anyone else.

"Who is she?" asked Sub-zero, walking closer and leaning over her.

"Her name's Jessica... she catches the same bus as me every morning before school...," he finished, looking at her with dark, solemn eyes.

Entity walked over to her and gently picked her up, causing her shoulder-length blonde hair to fall away from her face.. The light illuminated her pale, delicate features and her sparkling green eyes revealed that she wasn't quite sedated. Entity looked at her and she looked at him. She seemed as if she was drunk, as her movements were groggy and lethargic. It was obviously an effect of the sedative.

Her soft pink lips were slightly parted and her normally rosy cheeks were ghostly white and made her freckles clearly visible.

"As we leave, you two can walk on my right hand side," Entity told them, turning around to the door. Jess's arms dangled out from her sides lazily and from anyone observing from a distance, she looked dead.

"Why?" asked Shadow, unsure of the curious order and that curiosity was clearly evident on his face.

"She's... wearing a skirt," Sub-zero pointed out, somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh..." Shadow replied... silencing himself.

She was indeed wearing a black skirt that fell to just above her knees. Her white polo shirt suggested that she had been preparing for a formal event of some description and was dreadfully close to exposing her chest region. Her graceful feet were bare, and surprisingly clean for someone who had been trapped in a grubby cell for a while.

"Get moving, guys," Entity nudged, keeping his eyes off the girl in is arms and making sure Sub-zero and Shadow didn't turn around.

After moments more travelling (And floating up through holes), they reached the deck and were surprised to find no more security forces trying to kill them.

"Well... that's just not right...," Sub-zero muttered, looking at the deserted deck.

"Do you think they abandoned ship?" Shadow asked, also examining the area but being careful not to bring his eyes too close to Entity's direction.

"Look at the console over there. The vessel assumed it had taken severe missile damage and all hands evacuated... probably a result of me ripping the hull up," Entity said, no emotion showing in his voice and his expression was unreadable.

"Fair enough, so long as no Sentinels are involved. I'll go get the jet. You guys wait here," Sub-zero said before shooting off on a side of ice.

"If this were a trap, he'd be dead right about now," Shadow mumbled, barely audible but just loud enough for Entity to hear.

"He likes to stay on the move. It works most of the time," he stated, staring at the distant X-men as he reached the jet's location.

Seconds later, the familiar sounds of the engines erupted across the deck and the jet landed, lowering a ramp for the crew to board.

"It was on auto pilot!" yelled Sub-zero over the noise, " I can't pilot this thing so I hit the button and it came over here!"

Shadow grinned and hopped aboard, followed closely by Entity who was being careful not to hit Jess's head on the doors. He walked over to a bed at the back of the jet and set her down, strapping her in, in preparation for the journey.

"I've got you..." he whispered, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Hey, you piloting or fantasising? We gotta go now, buddy!" Sub-zero called from the cockpit.

With one last glance over his shoulder, Entity walked back to his seat and they began the trip home.

— Back At The Mansion...

The jet touched down on the metallic tiles of the hangar. After dis-engaging the engines and lowering the landing ramp, Entity carefully un buckled Jess and lifted her out of the jet, heading straight for the infirmary.

"Oh... don't wait for us then!" Shadow called after him, rolling his eyes again and leaving the hangar, followed by Sub-zero.

"Professor," Entity called once he had arrived in the med lab.

"We've been waiting for you. Set her down on the bed, she needs to rest. Well done for recovering her. You've done an exemplary job," Xavier congratulated.

Entity just frowned and sat down besides her in the bedside chair.

"Before you ask, I'm not planning to leave until I know she's alright," Entity told him, not removing his eyes from the flickering eyes of the girl.

"Very well. I must wait here also, to explain things to her when she wakes," Xavier explained, indicating to the girl with a tilt of his hand.

"You're planning to recruit her?" Entity asked, blankly, turning his attention to Xavier.

"It is entirely up to her, but after what happened... I believe it may be best if we at least extent the invitation to her. That way, she'll be more prepared if she is later attacked again. If she doesn't, we can erase her memory of the entire thing and keep her under surveillance should the Sentinels attempt a re-capture her," informed the Professor, sitting back in his chair.

"Understood," Entity stated, leaning forwards and watching the girl again.

"Matthew... you seem troubled. Even more so then usual. Did you want to discuss something with me?" Xavier asked, watching Entity with concern in his eyes.

A silence fell over the room, broken only by the occasional bleeping of the machines that surrounded them. Entity gazed with glassy eyes at the floor, not seeming to hear what Charles said.

"I understand. Though I must ask you, when you are ready to talk, we are your family and we are always here for you," the Professor comforted, his expression was that of deep concern.

If he didn't feel obliged to stay and watch over Jess, he would have got up and left the room, seeking the safety and silence of either his dormitory, or deep space...

**And so concludes the fifth chapter. I hope you are enjoying so far. If not, read something else.**


	6. Chapter 6, ReAwakening

**Re-Awakening**

Blood.

The crimson liquid stained the thin blades of metal...

It spattered the walls...

It stained the floor...

Earth...

Fire...

Water...

Air...

What did they mean?

Crushed.

Burned.

Drowned.

Suffocated.

See them all... watch them...

Rage...

_Revenge_

Hate...

_Despair_

Death...

_Justice_

War...

_Murderer_

Do you remember?

"_The burning sky, the gore-stained land, the crumbling mountains... yes..."_

Scales against Flesh...?

Fighting with heart and soul...?

"_The vicious battle... the destruction... I remember " _

The white-hot intensity of _absolute_ hatred..?

"_Yes..."_

"_The roaring never stopped... ringing in my ears."_

"_It never stops..."_

"_The desperate attempts of my father to defend us... my mother... both failed... I failed..."_

"_Magic... I escaped... Where?"_

"_Who? Who am I?"_

"_I died?"_

_I watched the blade ripping through his heart. He dropped to the floor, bleeding. His blood created pools of deep red liquid. All I could do was watch. My mother is protecting us. She lashes out, defending us with her life. Once in the neck, twice through the heart. The spears never seemed to stop..._

"_Leave them alone!" I yelled. I've lost them. My parents... gone..._

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" screamed Entity, jolting instantly into a sitting position, panic consuming him. His eyes were wide with horror and his breath came in short, ragged gasps.

The desk at the far wall exploded violently, sending splinters in all directions. The telekinetic disruptions continued as the mirror shattered, sending shards of glass into the wall opposite. Fear clutched his heart with an icy claw and the sweat drenched his bed. The room was shaking. The floorboards were going berserk in a chorus of groaning and creaking, threatening to break.

Fire lit the duvet sending smoke and ashes into the heated air.

"_Control... regain control... regain... regain control..." _Entity thought to himself, trying as hard as he could to calm down and focus before his powers began to destroy the mansion.

A quiet sob escaped his throat...

"_Calm down! It was just a fucking dream! Just a dream..." _

"S- so real...," he whispered aloud, staring ahead of him and trying to distract himself.

He felt curiously dizzy as he climbed out of his bed and stumbled slightly across the floor. He raised a hand to his head, but was stopped. He'd hit his mouth and nose in his attempt to massage his head and that was unusual since he couldn't remember his mouth and nose being so far from his face. He went cross-eyed as is vision focussed on his nose. There seemed to be something attached to his face. Something dark and slightly shiny.

Reaching his hands up to pull it off, he felt his hands close around his mouth and nose.

"_That's not right...," _He thought, looking at his hands.

His hands were on the black thing over his face, but it felt like his hands were on his mouth and nose still. At the same time it occurred to him that this black thing _was _his face and was in fact a snout, he noticed his hands. A slow, shaky breath vented from his throat as he watched his glossy white talons (attached to a pair of huge, muscular, black-scaled hands) release his face.

He watched as they began to shake, and listened as his breathing sped up. His heart pounded in his ears. His brain was silent, unable to discover any reason behind this sudden transformation.

The bed collapsed and practically crumpled as more power was accidentally exerted. Some emotions were hard to shut away. Impossible to ignore and one as powerful as fear could be deadly.

A thought flickered through his brain... It occurred to him that, unless he calmed, it was possible to die from shock... he had to calm down but this being impossible, he decided to do the only other thing that could save him.

Psychically locking his consciousness away from his physical body, he passed out completely, falling into the comfort of darkness and slumping limply to the floor.

What he guessed to be several hours later, he awoke. His brain was instantly forced into action as he didn't want to begin panicking again.

"_Earlier you suffered a transformation that was most likely due to mutation. Remember, you do have a second ability and it could be that it activated today and you just weren't prepared for it. Stay calm. Check a mirror. Don't panic," _He ordered himself, burying his imminent fear in theories and ideas. At this point, it was critical to remain cool, calm, and collected... but it wasn't easy.

He reached out in the dark for the doorhandle. His hand (or at least, what he hoped was his hand) closed around it and in a small click, it opened. Not daring to look at himself, he ran for the bathroom. The only trouble was, it became apparent that he still had a snout.

"Shit...," he muttered, but it emerged as a gruff mumble. His tongue felt longer and his teeth felt even sharper. He kept walking, even as he felt his heart speeding up even more.

Sealing the bathroom door behind him, Entity was finally safe from any prying eyes. Cautiously he approached the mirror, unsure of what he would find staring back.

"_Start at the top, work down and analyse scientifically rather then freaking out...,"_ he told himself, over and over...

The clean white bathroom was reflected in the mirror, but then was disturbed by a large black creature...

"_OhGodohGodohGod...," _he whispered...

Two long, black horns barely fit in the mirror frame. Two more horns below them, and another smaller set below them. These were located at the back of a black-scaled, reptilian head with small dark spikes running from the very top of the head, down to wherever they ended. A pair of dark, almost snake-like eyes looked back at him with a look of silent, suppressed fear. A long snout ended in two slit-like nostrils. Gleaming white teeth hooked over the lips of the creature and a long, pink, forked tongue was visible inside the creatures gaping maw.

Two, huge, bat-like wings unfurled behind it and quivered ever so gently in the slight breeze from the open window. The membranes between these wings were greyish and looked to be very thin, not to mention light. The small, shining black scales coated the rest of the upper half, apart from the neck and chest area.

Rather then scales, these areas were covered by some type of organic armour plating that was rock solid to the touch, yet flexible. Upon further inspection, this plating covered the abdomen as well and hooked around at the fork of his legs to form the underside of a huge, trunk-like tail that slowly waved from one side to the other. He couldn't help but weakly smile at his heavily muscled body. Admiring the gigantic muscles in his arms and torso, he turned to the left and his attention returned to the spikes on his back.

It seemed like the spikes from his head ran down to the tip of his tail, where a particularly large spike made up the actual tail tip.

At that moment, something nagged at his already currently fragile mind. Unsure wether he should, Entity thought carefully before deciding to find out. Careful not to freak, he looked down slowly at his groin. It seemed to be covered by a fragment of the underwear he'd been wearing as he slept. It was now torn and stretched... completely un-repairable.

Biting his lip with worry, anxiety and fear (the towel rail began to rattle uncontrollably), he removed the material from the area and as he surveyed himself, his breath caught in his throat. His eyes grew wide and his heart began to pound into over time.

"_What... the... HELL?!" _he whimpered.

The towel rail ripped itself from the wall and slammed into the bath, leaving a massive dent in the enamel.

It was clearly not just his muscles that had grown huge...

Feeling faint and close to passing out, Entity grabbed a towel from the crumpled rail and attempted to cover what he could of his lower region before sneaking out of the room and heading for the sub-basement. If there was any help to be had, it would come from down there.

He passed the med-lab, wondering wether Jess had woken. Remembering what Xavier said about 'keeping her unconscious until morning' entered his memory. No way was she up. The clicking of his claws on the metal tiles echoed through the area and he began to feel as though he was being followed.

He reached the science lab and decided, just in case, to make sure no one was in there first.

Entity cleared his throat with a growl, "Ahem... is... is anyone... in there?" he asked, trying to get his voice as gruff-less as possible.

"Entity? Is that you? What are you doing up this late?" replied a voice.

It was Beast... damn... now what?

"_Wait... Beast is a scientist... maybe he can explain?"_ he thought. He could locate the answers himself, but he would have to confront the Negative Phoenix to do that and with his mind being as unstable as it currently was, that was not an option.

A curious feeling washed over him as his panic subsided for a moment. It felt as if he was being swept away and replaced by something else... as if his body was becoming trapped in a shell...

"Beast?!" Entity called, surprised to find his voice had returned to normal.

With a frown, he brought his hands to his face and examined the soft, pink skin on his palms. Letting go of the towel was a bad idea... it slid to his feet just as the door opened and Beast stepped into view.

Entity whipped down and grabbed the towel, quickly hiding his groin, but too late.

Beast's expression changed from a look of concern to a look of embarrassment, surprise and curiosity.

"May I ask what it is you are doing?" he asked in an odd tone.

"Something's... wrong with me... I... I didn't know... I didn't know what to...," he stammered, still in partial shock. The metal on the walls groaned in the strain of the telekinetic disturbance that still surrounded the teenager. The creaking created an eerie atmosphere as both people stood in silence.

Beast, now understanding the situation a little better, indicated for Entity to come inside.

"Sit up on the bench and explain clearly what you mean by that," Beast asked, busying himself with some sort of injection device.

"I was asleep... I woke up because I had a nightmare... I saw my hands and they'd changed... I went to the bathroom and saw me in the mirror and it was like... I'd become a massive black... dragon...," Entity finished, blushing at how stupid it sounded.

"You had a nightmare and you're seeking my help?" asked Beast, curiously.

"No... I woke up because of the nightmare, then found myself... changed...," Entity verified again.

"Are you sure it was real? Could it be possible that you hallucinated?" asked Beast, making sure Entity was sure.

"I'm absolutely positive that the transformation was real. I came down here to do a blood test and I only just turned back into a human...," Entity explained, his eyes unfocused.

"I'm going to run a blood test to check for any anomalies. Meanwhile, would you like a physical examination?" Beast asked, walking over to the seventeen year old with a needle.

"Erm... okay... if it helps...," he replied, eyeing the needle with distaste.

"It may help, but it may not. Hold still please, sir," Beast asked, wiping the area for the injection with a sterilised cotton bud before jabbing the needle gently into Entity's arm and extracting a decent amount of blood. After the blood was collected, he wiped the area clean with another cotton bud and put the blood into a petri dish and placed it under the microscope.

"Fascinating...," he mumbled, "I'll leave that to form. In the meantime, say ahh?" he asked, walking over to Entity with an object that resembled an ice-lolly stick. He placed it on Entity's tongue and pressed down, looking at the student's tonsils. He extracted the stick and tilted Entity's head to the side, then the other side, then he tilted it up and examined his neck.

"There does seem to be signs of distortion...," Beast muttered, " Your collar bone is shaping itself... as if it was shrinking after being stretched..."

"Peculiar..." mumbled Entity, calming down, but being agitated by the blue hairs that kept tickling him. He never mentioned it though, as it wasn't Beast's fault.

"There's some slight discolouration of your chest area... and... and...," Beast stopped talking.

Before him, Entity's body was beginning to transform again and once he was fully formed, all Beast could do was stare.

"It's rude to stare...," Entity pointed out, indicating towards Beast with a massive hand.

"Remarkable... simply remarkable!" he exclaimed, walking closer to feel Entity's right arm. Entity could barely feel him touching his scales as his fingers explored the firm muscles and smooth scaley skin.

"How does it feel?" asked Beast, analysing the tendons in the dragon's wrist.

"Powerful... awkward... great..." replied Entity, looking at himself. Noticing the towel slipping off of his lap, he quickly pulled it back over him and the slight embarrassment he felt created enough emotion to shatter a beaker of iodine on the bench opposite.

Beast turned in surprise, but Entity quickly explained.

"That was me. I apologise... It feels weird."

"What do you mean?" queried the scientist, raising a blue eyebrow.

The cabinets rumbled on the walls as Entity considered what to do.

"_Just remember, he's a scientist... he's a scientist. He's a scientist..." _Entity thought to himself.

Biting his lip, he removed the towel, allowing Beast to view his lower half. He quickly replaced it, as the cold air was making him feel odd and the last thing he needed was to get any bigger.

Beast chuckled slightly, "That's nothing to be ashamed of. It's simple reptilian anatomy, only larger. I'll leave you to figure... well... _you _out..." Beast said, scratching the back of his head.

"Blood test?" reminded Entity, pointing to the microscope, desperate to change the conversation before he made the other mutant's head explode.

"Ah yes," Beast said, wandering over to the test and carefully analysing the blood, "Just as I thought... you _have _formed another mutation... but..."

"But what?"

"But... I'll have to get back to you on that one...," Beast finished, unable to draw any conclusions from the sample. There was a hint off odd confusion in Beast's expression, as if he'd found something that he found disturbing... but he never said anything.

By the time he looked back at Entity, he was in human form again.

"What am I going to do about clothes?" Entity asked, thinking back to the torn underwear.

"Good point...," Beast began, searching for a solution for some time before replying, "I believe there is a pair of underwear in the Danger Room changing rooms that allows for expansion and then contraction without distorting, warping or tearing. The only problem is, they weren't designed for mutants with tails..."

"I can modify them. Where are they again?" Entity asked, getting up from the bench and being sure to keep the towel around him.

"Changing rooms, left hand side of the battle-suit lockers," Beast explained, pointing to the door.

"Thank you," the teen muttered before disappearing from the room.

Grabbing a pair of the shorts and putting them on as fast as possible, Entity sprinted back up to his room and slammed the door behind him. Trouble was, it didn't close. Rather then banging shut, it caught the end of a large black tail...

With a yell of pain, Entity blasted the door off it's hinges and freed his tail, which lashed about in an attempt to rid the pain. During this process, it knocked the bedside lamp off of it's perch on the table and sent it crashing to the floor.

A dull thumping on his wall let him know that he'd woken Cyclops, next door. Not really caring, he collapsed onto his demolished bed and stared blankly at the ceiling, waiting for his body to shift back into human form. He felt his body shrink slightly to a size that was still bigger then his human form, but was still less then seven foot tall.

"_Well, at least the shorts work," _he thought, glancing down at the fabric that covered his lower area. The material, adapted from Shi'ar clothing, repaired itself upon receiving damage. Therefore, when his tail emerged and tore through the back of the shorts, they formed around it and fit snugly, still looking stylish. He assumed that they would re-shape when his tail disappeared, but there was plenty of time to find out.

He felt his body expand once more before feeling his distinctive human size. Running a curious hand over his chest, he discovered bare skin and fell into a relieved, but awkward, slumber.


	7. Chapter 7, Honest Intentions

**Honest Intentions**

The morning glow of the sun cast a warm, welcomed light over the institute grounds. Healthy green trees waved softly in the gentle breeze and the clouds rolled across the sapphire sky like liquid.

Sub-zero lazily shuffled across the sitting room towards the kitchen, seeking food to quiet his rumbling stomach. His bleary eyes were dark and he looked as if he was suffering from insomnia.

"Heya Tom," chirped Jubilee, walking past him and smiling.

Tom mumbled a quick, "Hiya..," before returning to his zombified state. It was only when he felt her hand playfully slap his backside that his brain jolted awake. Turning around and fixing her with a questioning stare, all she did was giggle.

He nudged the kitchen door open to discover Shadow and Shadow-cat arguing over the last slice of bread. He stood framed in the doorway for ages, just watching them hurl insults until both of them completely forgot about the bread and began to squabble over anything they could think of.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Twitching his fingers at the bread (Still clasped in Kitty's hand), he froze it solid and she dropped it in surprise. Stephen lunged at it and caught it, only to hurl it up as his fingers hit the cold material. Tom plucked it out of the air and jammed it in the toaster before either of the others could say a thing.

Silence fell over the room and, fuming, Shadow-cat sunk through the floor and vanished, raising her middle finger at both of them as she went.

"That was a cheap trick," Stephen complained as the toast popped out of the machine and landed on the plate that Tom and flipped out underneath it.

"It worked though," he grinned, taking a large bite out of it.

"Bastard..," mumbled the blue-furred mutant, leaning against the island in the centre of the kitchen and looking out of the window.

"Is Matt up yet?" asked Tom, between mouth-fulls of toast.

"He woke up hours ago. He came down here, his breakfast made itself, he ate it, then he went down to the sub-basement and hasn't come out of the med lab since," Steve explained, grabbing the milk carton and walking over to the fridge to jam it back in.

"I take it she hasn't woke up then?" Tom asked, stuffing the last piece in his mouth.

"Nope... and I don't think Entity's gonna leave her till she has," Steve replied, winking at Tom.

Tom rolled his eyes and searched the cupboards behind him for food.

"Do you ever stop eating?" Steve asked, as Tom pulled a jar of peanut butter out and began to unscrew the lid.

"I sleep, don't I?" he asked, smiling as he flipped the lid onto the island, "and there's also all the missions I go on... I can't eat during missions... it makes me sick. A bit of advice for you, _never_ have a curry before a mission."

"Duly noted," he replied, sarcastically.

"_I thought I might inform you that Jess awoke about an hour ago and is currently attempting an initiation exam," _Entity's voice explained to them in their heads.

"I wasn't the only one to hear that, right?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. They must've been pressed for time if she's already being recruited. That must be the shortest introduction ever," Tom said, talking to himself and Steve simultaneously.

"Let's get down there and watch. D'ya think she'll pass?" Steve asked, heading for the door.

"Yes and maybe," Tom replied, bounding ahead of him and whacking the elevator door button.

The doors slid open with a hiss and in no time they were down in the sub-basement. The white glow from the lights bounced off the metal tiles and Steve took a bit of time to admire their distorted reflections in them. The control booth doors opened and the pair walked through to discover Entity and Xavier monitoring the Danger Room closely.

Entity looked as emotionless as ever, but the bags under his eyes suggested that he'd not slept well and his grouchy tone reflected this.

"I doubt she's ready for this," Entity said, flicking the next simulation into life.

"Have faith. She's more skilled then she lets on." Xavier replied, peering through the observation window at the chamber below them.

"She has no combat expertise. She's being forced to rely on her powers and you tell us never to rely solely on mutant abilities," Entity snapped back, almost aggressively.

Xavier considered before answering, "Yes, it is not wise to rely on powers alone, but training must start somewhere and I believe that this, coupled with your next mission will be adequate."

Tom chose this area of conversation to interrupt, "Good morning to you too. What do you mean by 'next mission'?"

Xavier turned around and half smiled, "We have received a tip off from a friend of ours that the brotherhood is planning an infiltration of a research facility in Canada. You'll be heading there for your next assignment."

"Great! I feel like whupping some ass today," Steve quipped, raising his fists and performing a few quick jabs in mid air.

"Quite. Due to the need for stealth on this mission, you'll be taking Jessica with you. She seems eager to join and I believe this to be the perfect task for one with her abilities," Xavier explained, avoiding the glare he was getting form Entity (the computer monitors flickered slightly).

"**Sequence complete,"**stated the computer as the scenario in the Danger Room ended.

Xavier leant forward and spoke into the microphone, "Excellent work Jessica. Please make your way up to the control room and we'll discuss your performance."

"On my way, sir," a female voice replied over the communication system.

"Woah. She certainly sounds like she can take orders," Tom commented, nudging Stephen with his elbow and winking.

He turned to see Entity's reaction and wasn't surprised to see a relatively blank face glaring back. With a slight fizzle and a quiet 'pop', a computer de-activated and began sparking. Obviously, Tom's comment was not taken lightly.

It was then that the doors opened again and in walked the girl they had saved on the previous mission. The only difference being that now, she was dressed in a black t-shirt and dark shorts. The belt around her waist (with a small red 'X' in the centre buckle) was evidence enough to tell them that she wanted to join up.

"Hi," she greeted, nervously, glancing around at them.

"Hey Jess," Tom replied.

"Hey there," Steve said, still examining her outfit.

Xavier moved over to her and indicated towards Tom and Stephen, introducing them.

"These are the two other gentlemen that aided in your rescue. Thomas Jenkinson and Stephen Blanchard," he sais, smiling warmly.

She waved timidly, smiling awkwardly at the attention she was getting.

Entity cut in, "You passed the initiation. Your results were fairly good and you have the right attitude," he told her before striding towards the door, "I'll start the jet."

"What's with psycho, Prof?" asked Tom, following Entity's departure with concerned eyes.

"Apparently he had a disturbed night. If you'd like to make your way to the hangar, I'll explain your mission whilst you travel," Xavier informed, heading for the door.

**(Ten minutes later)**

Sub-zero sat in the jet's co-pilot seat, staring patiently out of the window as the clouds broke in front of them. Entity sat silently next to him, concentrating fully on piloting the vehicle and behind them, Shadow and the newly named and initiated 'Phantom' sat discussing the mission.

"So you guys have been doing this, how long?" she asked, glancing at the two mutants in the front seats.

"I've only been here for about a day, but the others have been at it for a while," Shadow explained, his tail whipping from side to side as he spoke.

"Cool... how come I've never seen you on the news? The Fantastic Four are always on T.V. but I've not seen you guys...," she asked, frowning.

"Guess," Entity stated, dryly.

"Because were mutants and we're considered criminals," Sub-zero told her, not looking back, but deep in thought.

Phantom didn't reply. Her brow remained creased with contemplation and her beautiful green eyes were directed at the floor.

"Lets get the mission details from the Professor, then," Sub-zero suggested and reached forwards to bring the com system online.

"Professor, we're about five minutes away from Canada now. Can you fill us in on just what the heck were supposed to be doing?" he asked as the man appeared on screen.

"Listen closely," Xavier began, "The Brotherhood have arrived at the facility and are attempting to retrieve files that contain information about 'Venom', a symbiotic being from the depths of space which arrived on planet Earth years ago."

"Shouldn't we be contacting Spider-man for assistance?" Sub-zero joked, half serious.

"There is no need. You will not be encountering Venom, but you need to try to find out _why_ they are attempting to steal these files. The Brotherhood rarely collects information for no reason," Xavier explained to them, bringing up images of both the facility and various members of the Brotherhood.

"I think it would be best if _we _retrieved the files before they did. For safety's sake," Entity suggested, not taking his attention off the task of flying the jet.

"Professor, are there any of the Brotherhood members there that we ought to be concerned about? Juggernaut? Toad? Magneto?" Sub-zero asked, raising his eyebrows as he ran through the list of possible threats.

"The only member of the Brotherhood that may pose a threat to you there is the newest member. He calls himself 'Honesty' but thus far that is all we know," Xavier told them, a hint of regret in his voice.

"I'm lowering the landing gear. We've arrived," Entity informed the Professor before switching off the screen.

"I was watching that!" complained Shadow, grinning profoundly.

Entity ignored him and lowered the ramp, practically sprinting out into the harsh and bitter cold of the Canadian mountains. Snow flurried past them in almost blinding amounts and the ground crunched dully beneath them.

"I've never been to Canada before," Phantom exclaimed, with a hint of both excitement and anxiousness.

"If you'd have spoken to Wolverine about this place, you wouldn't want to be here," Sub-zero told her, having to raise his voice to be heard in the weather.

Ahead of them, not so far in the distance, the dull shape of the facility could just be made out. Dim lights flickered out and there seemed to be little security about.

"Stay together and lets find those files before they do," Entity ordered through the commotion.

The team approached the door and it became instantly apparent that they had been beaten here by the Brotherhood. The large steel doors were locked down, but scorched and heavily damaged.

"Phantom! Get us in?" called Entity, pointing at the door.

"Okay!" she replied, grabbing Sub-zero's hand, who then grabbed Shadow by the tail. She then wrapped her fingers around Entity's hands and squeezed gently. The snow around Entity melted and the ground began to burn with small flames. Regardless, the team moved on.

Phantom walked to the door and pushed herself through it, pulling the others in with her. It was a curious sensation, being pulled through a solid steel door. It was like your body was made of water and a large metal object had just sunk through you leaving your insides feeling cold.

Once they were all through, Entity slipped his hand free of Phantom's grasp and began to scout ahead.

"Sub, get up here and freeze this door. I'll blast it off," he ordered.

Sub-zero complied and directed his hands at the smaller metal door. With a hiss and the sound of groaning metal, the door was off it's hinges and floating away from the intruders.

"Time to die, X-men!" came a voice from the other side. It was a Brotherhood thug, dressed in heavy metal armour and wielding some sort of energy weapon.

Sub-zero sent a shard of ice rocketing forwards and stabbing the guy in the leg. Once he was down, Phantom blasted him with a faint white energy that forced him to slump back, unconscious.

"Shadow seemed at a loss for something to do, so rushed ahead and kicked the next door open. They entered into a small hexagonal room, lined with copper tiles.

"This is odd," he commented, jumping as the walls began to move.

"They're gonna crush us! Quick, prop them apart with something!" Shadow yelled, pressing himself up against the rotating walls.

"Steve, it's just an elevator...," Sub-zero explained, grimacing at his teammate's behaviour.

As the elevator came to a stop (and Shadow stopped blushing), the doors slid open to reveal to them another large rectangular chamber with a large door at the end of the hall.

"Reinforcements are on the way," Entity informed, glancing back at the elevator that was slowly closing behind them, "If I hold them back, can you guys find the files okay?"

"Sure. I'll transfer them to your X-computer once I have them," Sub-zero assured, nodding towards his ally.

"Good luck and please be careful," Entity bid them farewell and walked back into the elevator to begin the descent back down.

"Okay, lets get through those doors and find those files," Sub-zero commanded, enjoying his new level of command over the current situation.

The door was metallic and impossible to break through, but that didn't stop them getting through it.

"Phantom-," Sub-zero began, but was cut off.

"On it!" she yelled, grabbing them both and practically diving through the door. They reached the other side and shook themselves off. Sub-zero and Shadow were still getting used to the effects of phasing through objects.

Looking around, they found themselves in a large room that contained a number of computers, screens and other technological devices.

"Does one of these computers contain the files?" Shadow asked, having to spin around in order to view the full room with wide, impressed eyes.

"No. The files are on the computer behind these doors, but I'm afraid I can't let you get to them," a voice called, echoing ever so slightly off the back wall.

The team fixed their attention on the source of the voice. A strange-looking boy, no older then fifteen, stood in front of the next room. It was unusual that they hadn't spotted him before, but never the less, he was there. His raven-black hair fell to his shoulders and his cold grey eyes were fixed on them. The strange, and somewhat familiar thing about his eyes were the fact that, like Entity's, they seemed aged... wise beyond their years as if they'd witnessed things that would turn any normal human insane.

"You can't stop us," Sub-zero stated, folding his arms and smirking. By his stance, you could tell his over-confidence had taken over.

His attitude spread to the others and soon they had all dropped their guard, confidence over flowing from them.

"I don't intend to stop you. I simply mean to keep you entertained!" laughed the boy, fixing them with a curious stare.

"You're Honesty?" Phantom asked, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forwards slightly.

"Correct. But I think that is the only introduction that will be needed here today," He smiled before continuing, "You are Sub-zero, better know as Thomas Jenkinson. You are seventeen years old and you have the ability to manipulate and generate ice. You can also manipulate your skeletal structure but that's one ability that won't be around for much longer," he grinned oddly, his teeth glinting in the light, "Your family split up many years ago and since then you feel you have been ignored and mistreated. You feel lost in a world that doesn't understand you and you silently hope that one day your family will mend," he continued, enjoying the expression he received.

Sub-zero stared at Honesty, unable to say anything and only able to give him a confused expression.

"You are under the belief that you are a mutant when actually you're only half right," Honesty carried on, despite Sub-zero's apparent daze, "Your abilities are actually inherent... 'passed down' so to speak. You don't realise how powerful you are and you have no idea how powerful you'll become..."

Sub-zero's look of confusion changed to a look of contemplation as the words sank in.

"You're the one they call 'Shadow', better known as Stephen Blanchard. You're sixteen years old and once again have more power then you realise... but you will find it some day, but at what cost, I wonder?" Honesty kept going, telling them about themselves, things they knew and didn't know.

"You're called Phantom but everyone still thinks of you as Jessica Percival," he stated, turning his attention to the female, "You're seventeen years old and have a range of supernatural abilities and one day soon will have another that will set you apart from every other person on this planet besides one... which brings me onto the final topic of conversation... Entity," he finished, bowing slightly and raising his arms in a fancy posture as if he were on stage.

"Ooooh, now, there's a guy with a _really _interesting past," Honesty said, staring up at the ceiling, "So much evil, so much pain and so much war, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but what if he were to tell you? What if he told you the truth? Who he really is? Do me a favour will you Tom?" asked Honesty, walking forwards and tilting his head, almost apologetically, to the left.

Sub-zero glared at him, "You're stalling for time... you can't fight us so you're just trying to buy yourself more time," he accused, bringing his fists up into a ready position.

"One point for the guy with the ice!" Honesty yelled, pointing at Sub-zero with a finger as if he'd just won a bidding contest, "But before we fight, promise me you'll ask Entity his age? His _real _age?"

Sub-zero lurched forwards and sent a cone of ice-energy in Honesty's direction. From where they were, it looked as if the strike had hit it's target, but when the cold mist dispersed, there was no one there.

"Behind you," called Honesty, now stood directly behind the team.

He brought his hands up and sent two fists slamming into Shadow and Phantom's chests. They were sent flying backwards and landed heavily on the floor. Sub-zero attempted to freeze him, but in a flurry of motion that was impossible for eyes to follow, Honesty leapt into the air and slammed the guy in the head with a kick.

Sub-zero spun twice before hitting the ground with a painful thump. All three were grounded, but not for long. They picked themselves up and ran at him. Sub-zero hurled shards of ice whilst Phantom fired a beam of ghostly energy at Honesty but they both missed. Honesty ducked and rolled, jumping into another flying kick that impacted with a thud into the side of Sub-zero's face.

He continued into a flip and sent both his feet into Phantom's gut, sending her into a wall. Shadow teleported and took a swipe at Honesty's head, but in another motion, Shadow found himself flying through the air at the door.

"Entity, we have a problem," Sub-zero spluttered over the communicator.

"I know. Get to the computer. Those files are our highest priority at the moment," Entity replied, sounding exhausted.

Sub-zero clicked the communicator off and picked himself up. The side of his face was throbbing with pain and felt oddly numb in some places. He made his way quickly over to the doors and forced one open with his hands. The hinges were broken and so the metal slid easily.

He felt a tug on his neck and the next thing he knew was that he was lying on his back, staring up at Honesty, who then proceeded to kick him in the ribs and send him sliding down the room. Phantom, by this time, had recovered and watched the whole thing. As Shadow attacked Honesty once more, she bolted for the computer behind the door and clicked her X computer in place to begin downloading.

"_Okay-okay... Forge said to leave this thing in and it'd do the rest... at least, I hope that was what he said," _she thought as the device began to hum.

"Step away from the computer, little girl," asked a gentle, but eerie voice.

She turned to find Honesty standing right behind her. After a second of staring into his disturbed eyes, she sent her fist up into his jaw. He stumbled backwards a little but recovered, but Phantom didn't stop. She lunged at him and sent two more fists into his face and a knee up into his chest. She aimed a kick at his ribs but he blocked with a fore arm. She threw a punch at his gut but he blocked again.

"Bad move, little one," he said, bringing a fist back and hurling in at her like a bullet.

'THUD'

It hit her fore arm, which had instinctively been raised in a block. As he stood there wondering what had just happened, she whacked him across the cheek with her energy-charged hand and sent him hurtling into the wall where she had been moments before.

She turned and ran back to the computer, yelling for Sub-zero to get up. The screen displayed a small message,

"**DOWNLOAD COMPLETE."**

She yanked the X computer out of the socket and selected the 'send information' button that had appeared on her computer's screen.

"Send to?" the computer asked. Flipping through a range of names, she picked Entity1914 from the selection screen and the transfer began.

A sudden piercing sensation in her leg forced her to drop the computer. It fell to the floor with a small metallic clink and was followed by small spatters of blood. She looked down to see a thin blade of metal protruding from her shin. Honesty had stabbed her from behind, but not tried to kill her. Despite the stab not being fatal, she was losing a tremendous amount of blood. The liquid poured out in rivers down her leg and spread over the ground.

"_It must've pierced an artery?" _was her final thought before her vision failed and her body collapsed to the floor.

—

Sub-zero's sight returned slowly. At first, only blurred shapes could be made out. It seemed as though he were under neath a big silver blanked with strange lights blinking on and off. As his vision became more defined, he realised that he was in act on the inside of the X-jet, staring up at the blinking lights of the co-pilot controls.

"Whua?" he mumbled, glancing lazily to his right, where Entity sat piloting the vehicle.

"It's about bloody time you woke up," he said, flicking a few switches before unbuckling and moving to the back of the jet.

Sub-zero jolted up and grabbed the steering controls.

"What's up? You seem pissed," he said, shaking his head free of the dazed effect and trying to focus on driving.

"Jess is suffering from major blood-loss. You need to fly us back while I give her some of my blood," Entity explained, grabbing a medical kit from a storage rack above the side door.

"What happened?" Tom asked, glancing back at Entity for a moment before returning his attention to flying.

"You'll have to tell me. I found you all unconscious and had to drag you out using telekinesis. We have the files and the Brotherhood left in a hurry, suggesting that they're need of the files was limited," Entity informed, jabbing a needle into his arm.

The needle connected to a pipe and on the other end of the pipe was another needle, which was connected to Jessica, who lay unconscious on the medical bed.

"You okay back there?" asked Tom, flicking a few switches as the jet sped up.

"I'm fine. My telekinesis can assist the transfusion but It's highly likely that I'll pass out so listen closely. Once we land, get me and Jessica to the Infirmary. Beast can take care of us. Stephen's fine, so get him to his dormitory and let him rest. Get the files on the X computer to my dormitory and I can study them when I get up," Entity instructed carefully, slowing down once he reached the end of his instructions.

"Good job on the mission, anyway... you did... you did a good job... good job...," Entity began to mumble as he slumped back against the bed, his eyes struggling to stay open.

"Hey! Stay with me, Matt! Don't leave me with no one to talk to!" Tom called. He wasn't really lonely in the jet, but having someone to talk to made the journey easier.

Trouble was, they had run out of fuel for the main engines and so now they were running on backup, which wasn't as fast as normal engines.

**Approximately half an hour later**

The jet touched down in the hangar and Tom lowered the ramp as fast as he could. Sensing something wasn't right, Beast ran to aid Tom in carrying the unconscious bodies of Jessica and Matthew to the medical bay. He proceeded to carry out the other tasks he had been set, carrying Stephen to his dorm and then the symbiote files to Matt's room.

Upon his return to the infirmary, he filled Xavier in on the mission details as they both watched over Phantom and Entity. Xavier asked questions about Honesty, but hardly any answers could be drawn from the encountered, other then the fact that he was a skilled fighter and knew quite a few things about people that sometimes they themselves didn't know.

After little conversation ensued, Tom left for his room, hoping that tomorrow would bring him some answers, even if he had to fight to get them...


	8. Chapter 8, Unusual

**Unusual**

_The blood..._

_The death..._

_The blades..._

_The war..._

_You remember?_

_Remember?_

_Remember them?_

_Saphira...?_

_Why does that sound... familiar?_

_Heart ache... pain..._

_Destruction..._

_God, it hurts!_

_Help..._

_Help me..._

_Help us!?_

_Please... remember..._

The bluey-grey eyes flickered open in the semi-darkness. The light from the monitoring equipment cast a strange glow over them both.

Phantom and Entity still lay in the medical lab, but Entity was the only one awake. His eyes searched and his weakened body tensed, just in case.

"It's me..." came a voice.

Tom walked out from the shadows and stood at the foot of Entity's bed. He looked concerned, but not sympathetically. He seemed worried about his own safety around Entity rather then the condition of his friend.

"Why... here...?" Entity asked weakly, propping himself up on his elbows.

"How old are you?" asked Tom, staring deeply into Entity's eyes.

The question evoked a look of confusion from his friend.

"Fourteen," he replied, sliding himself into a full sitting position.

"How old are you, Matthew," he asked again, darker this time.

"Fourteen," Matt repeated, bowing his head slightly.

This discussion was confusing him. What was wrong with Tom? Why the sudden interest in his age?

It was odd, though. Both of the times he had answered 'Fourteen', it felt as though he was blatantly lying... he couldn't understand it.

"Why does it feel like you're lying?" Tom asked, tilting his head.

"I'm not... I don't know what you mean, but you're starting to irritate me... please leave," Entity asked, flumping back into his pillow.

"You've never been truthful to any of us. You're always keeping things from us. Why?" he asked, ignoring Entity's request.

Entity's voice filled with a sudden poison, **"If you refuse to leave, I will **_**make **_**you leave..."**

Tom backed away slightly, as if pushed sharply.

"One day you'll talk... I'll be there," he said, before leaving the room. As the door closed and he was plunged into silence, Entity's mind began to race...

"_Why were you lying? I wasn't lying. I'm seventeen years old... aren't I? Yes? I must be... why did I feel like a liar? It wasn't right... I've been around for longer... __**much longer...**__ No I haven't... I'm fourteen...just fourteen...,"_ his thoughts were jumbled... as if his memory were gradually un-locking and events that he had long forgotten were playing slowly into his brain...

Tom walked out of the elevator and hurtled aggressively up the stairs. He was almost around the corner when he crashed into someone. With a heavy thump, he hit the ground and grunted. He looked around to see who he'd ran into and start yelling but was surprised to find Jubilee sitting opposite him, smiling awkwardly.

"Oh! Sorry... I was running and I... sorry for almost killing ya there...," Tom stuttered, getting to his feet and gently pulling Jubilee up onto her's.

"No problem! You get used to being knocked around when you're one of the X-men," she replied, smiling a little more comfortably now, "What's up?"

Tom smiled awkwardly at her and explained, "Relationship troubles..."

"Awww, hun, don't worry about it. If Tessa's still pissed off at you for breaking it up, it just means that you'll have to try extra hard to avoid her," Jubilee chirped, trying to cheer him up.

"Nah, it's not Tessa... I didn't mean a 'love' relationship... more like, friend ship troubles...," Tom explained, struggling to find words.

"C'mon, talk to me," Jubilee smiled again, shoving him playfully, "Let's go outside in the dark, sit down and you explain _everything._"

"Fair enough... but if you get bored, slap me," Tom joked, following her down the stairs and towards the door.

The cold night air hit them like a bucket of icy water. They stepped out into the darkness, broken only by the dim lights from the windows of restless students and mentors. Jubilee took his hand in hers and they hurried around to the stone benches at the side of the mansion and sat down.

"Go on, talk," she encouraged, punching him on his arm, not aggressively, though.

"Entity's keeping something from us... I don't think he trusts me," Tom explained, looking up at the lit dormitory windows.

"Tom, he doesn't trust anyone. Don't take it personally!" she said, trying to lighten his mood.

"But we're supposed to be friends! How can friends not trust each other?" Tom asked, shrugging to illustrate how he felt.

"You have friends at school that you don't trust... you've told me before," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I have, haven't I?" he replied, looking at her with an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, but I don't mind listening," she said, shrugging.

Her black hair rippled like water in the night-time breeze and the rich glow from the windows cast a golden light on her face.

"At least someone's here for me," he said, looking into her eyes.

She smiled before replying, "I'll always be here for you... even though that sounds really soppy!" she joked.

"Hehe, yeah... soppy...," he mumbled, caught in her gaze, "Ahem... so... yeah... stressful times."

"Tell me about it! When I got problems, I don't let them get to me though," Jubilee told him, smiling up at the starry sky.

"You never talk about your problems...," Tom pointed out, still looking at her.

"No one's there to listen...," she said, solemnly. She looked at him then, frowning.

"I'm here... for you.. Talk to me?" he asked, placing his hand on hers and gently squeezing.

"I'm... not sure... it's just... I guess I'm just... lonely...," she said, hesitating, clearly not wanting to share her feelings.

"Maybe I can help you with that?" Tom asked slowly, leaning slightly towards her, looking deep into her eyes, admiring the little sparkle in them.

"Yeah... maybe you can...," she mumbled, leaning closer to him.

He pressed his lips firmly against hers and hooked his arm around her back, pulling her closer to him. She returned the kiss, passionately, snaking her arms around his neck and embracing him at the same time. The heat made them forget the cold and for those few precious moments, time didn't matter. The Brotherhood, missions, troubles, danger, none of it mattered at that precise moment in time.

Eventually, too soon for their liking, Jubilee had to break the kiss to breathe. As she gasped the air in, she looked into Tom's eyes, longingly, lovingly, but happily.

Tom looked back at her in the same manner but with a spark in his eye that made Jubilee blush. He smiled warmly at her, admiring her face and rosy cheeks as she just kept staring.

"I love you," he whispered suddenly, placing his hands on her shoulders and rubbing them softly.

"Seriously?" she asked, raising an eyebrow but retaining her adoring look.

Tom nodded silently and smiled again as she replied, "I love you too."

"Would you like to go out someplace?" he asked, hoping that they could get some privacy and time away from a place filled with psychics, empaths and problems.

"I'd love too... so long as it's nowhere expensive...," she replied, getting to her feet and pulling Tom up with her.

"I don't care how much it costs... let's just go," he said, holding her hand in his and walking to the front gate.

The couple walked slowly down the path, away from the institute and towards the town, lit by the pale moonlight.

_The blood..._

_The visions..._

_What do they mean?_

_Why do I see them?_

_Why can I hear the voices?_

"Concentrate," Entity muttered to himself, his hands manipulating the telekinetic field around the dimensional rift.

His mind hurt, and strange thoughts were fighting their way to the surface, along with the enraged cries of the Negative Phoenix, furiously struggling to break free.

The Danger Room had suffered enough, but the upgrades Beast had made were helping the entire chamber keep from collapsing as the vortex spiralled wildly within the psychic constraints of Entity's barrier.

"_Reach out with your mind... find the object and pull... there... I feel it... pull... __**release me... **__ignore it... keep pulling, keep the vortex enclosed, find out what you created in there...,"_ he thought, focussing completely on the task at hand.

The Negative Phoenix's struggles were beginning to effect his energy output, and he could almost hear the computers in the observation booth fizzling out as they were overloaded.

His hands grew warm with the power. A familiar glow illuminated him and he felt the control of his mind slipping. Just as he realised he had to shut it off, he spotted something move inside the rift.

"_If I knew what it is that I'd created, this would be so much easier...," _he thought to himself as he locked his efforts on pulling the object free.

"_It could be anything... anything I've ever thought about... What could it be?" _he thought again, glimpsing the item once more.

The vortex began to buckle as his attention abandoned the attempts to keep it open. As it began to seal, the object slipped through briefly and in the seconds that it was there, Entity knew what it was.

"_Oh my-... it can't be? Yes it can be... If it's anything I've ever thought of, it could very well be...,"_he thought, picturing the large blue police box in his mind and tugging through the gap as hard as he could.

It slipped further, but the breach was threatening to close. The walls of the Danger Room groaned with the strain but stayed firm rather then collapsing.

"_Just a bit further... I can't believe this... as insane as this is, it'll be useful if I get it through," _he thought, strengthening his mental hold on the TARDIS he had created that had been trapped in the other dimension.

With an almighty explosion that shattered the observation window, the hole in the fabric of reality sealed, sending Entity into the wall on the far side of the Danger Room. He felt a rib break as he impacted against the hard metal surface and slid to the floor.

The chamber was filled with thick grey smoke that was gushing from several valves around the room. Entity winced as he got to his feet, gently rubbing the tender flesh above his splintered rib and looking around. There was a pale white light coming from a pair of windows ahead of him and through the screen of grey he could barely make out a large, rectangular object in the centre of the Danger Room.

He limped forwards, anxious to see wether his attempt to drag his mind's creation into the real world had succeeded. His brain felt heavy, but his head was still filled with ideas about what to do if he had been successful.

"_If I've pulled a TARDIS into existence... imagine what I could do... where I could go..." _

He reached ahead and felt the object in front of him. Fairly warm... and wooden.

Success!

Using a burst of telekinetic energy, he swiped the blanket of smoke away from the area and examined his creation with wide, excited eyes.

The blue structure stood much taller then him, and the light from the windows made it seem as if it were looking at him back. A thought occurred to him...how would he enter? Upon careful examination, this TARDIS had no keyhole, which meant there was no lock.

He cautiously reached for the door handle, trying to contain his overwhelming excitement. It opened with a click and without wasting any time, stepped inside...

Jubilee and Tom approached the gates of the mansion several hours later, after an entertaining trip to a nearby carnival. Tom's stomach felt like it was about to burst after all the burgers he'd eaten and the things that Jubilee had won were too numerous for her to carry and so had to be frozen together.

Despite this, both were laughing and reminiscing, occasionally kissing each other and playfully attempting to trip each other up.

"Stop! You'll kill me!" Joked Jubilee as Tom took another swipe at her legs.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he grinned back, tripping her again but catching her in his arms as she fell.

"My hero!" she yelled, hugging him tightly and cutting off his oxygen supply.

"If you ever fall, remember that I'll be here to catch you," Tom told her, lifting her back to her feet and reaching his other arm out towards the entrance.

He pushed the gates open and they walked inside, allowing the gates to automatically close behind them. It was still dark, but the sun was rising in the distance and the sky was not as black as it had been when they left.

"D'you thing anyone missed us?" Jubilee asked, knocking into Tom's side a few times.

"Me? Probably not. You? Probably Wolverine," He replied, quickly grabbing a large pink teddy that his newly found girlfriend dropped.

"Oh yeah... Mr Claws...," she said, giggling profoundly at her little joke.

"Mr Claws? I'll let him know you said that," laughed Tom, trying not to think what Wolverine would do if he knew they were mocking him.

"Don't! He'll eat me!" she whined, punching him in the arm playfully.

"Probably," Tom said, "But he'd have to beat _me_ to it."

They walked into the entrance hall and looked around. Nobody was up, but the lights were left on for them. There was a small pile of books on the side table, next to the wooden chair, that were probably left behind by Entity's brother, Liam. On the floor in front of the elevator was a small card (from the look of it, the ace of spades) that had presumably been left by Gambit.

"Awww, no one's here to say hi," Jubilee said, her voice echoing around the hall.

"But it also means no-ones here to see this," Tom said, quickly pulling Jubilee into a firm kiss and holding her against him.

She giggled against his mouth and replied, "Yep, if anyone saw that I'd kick you ass."

"Mmmmm, be my guest," Tom murmured, smiling playfully at her.

She pretended to kick him, but ended up dropping half the stuff she was carrying. Between fits of laughter, the two of them went about picking them up, ignorant to the fact that the elevator had just opened.

It was only when the doors closed with a slight thump that they realised they were not alone.

"Hello?" Tom called, quickly placing the stuffed animals he held on top of Jubilee's pile.

Entity walked forwards, stopped momentarily to give him a questioning look, then continued to walk up the staircase towards his room.

"What're you doing up?" Tom asked, sounding highly disappointed that Entity was awake.

"Clearing space," he replied, mysteriously before disappearing around the corner without another word.

"You go cheer up grumpy guts while I go find room for these," Jubilee suggested, shunting him gently before walking up the stairs towards her room.

"Wish me luck?" he called, hopefully.

"Good luck!" she chirped before vanishing around the other corner.

Tom stood still in silence for a second, contemplating how he should go about taking to his friend. Finding nothing to say, he decided that he ought to just improvise once the conversation started.

He bounded up the stairs and made his way along the corridor to Entity's room. Without bothering to knock, he opened the door and stepped in. The room was neat and well-kept, and he immediately spotted Entity in the corner of the room and he was, indeed, clearing space for something in the corner.

"What are you clearing space for?" Tom asked, still sounding glum and blank.

Entity stopped what he was doing and stood up, folding his arms and fixing Tom with an unreadable expression.

"About an hour ago, I pulled the TARDIS out of another dimension. It's down in the Danger Room and I need to get it out of the way," he explained, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Tom stood in silence with a dis-believing expression. He folded his arms and rolled his eyes before continuing, "Right... and I suppose Spok's down there too to tell you how to use it?"

"Actually, the TARDIS is alive and has the ability to communicate telepathically. Spok's not down there, no, but the TARDIS _is_ and needs to be moved elsewhere," Entity replied, returning to his clearing of space and not looking at Tom.

"You're.. not joking... are you..," he realised, unfolding his arms but retaining a relatively blank expression.

Entity walked out of the room and started down the corridor, calling back, "No Tom, I'm not joking," before skimming down the stairs and into the elevator.

For a second, Tom had no clue what to do. After moments of apathy, he followed Entity down the stairs, intending to discover the truth.

After an elevator journey that seemed to take years, Tom walked out in to the sub-basement and headed for the Danger Room observation booth. The doors slid open and the first thing that hit Tom as unusual was the fact that the window that allowed the occupants of the booth to view the contents of the Danger Room had been completely shattered.

The fragments of broken glass reflected the sparks flying from various computers and keyboards and all Tom could do was stare in alarm. He walked slowly up to the hole where the window had been, crunching the broken glass beneath his shoes. In the centre of the scorched, but relatively unscathed, Danger Room stood a fairly large blue Police Box.

He instantly recognised it as the TARDIS, a strange vehicle capable of travel through space and time (and occasionally different dimensions), from a television program they hadn't watched in years.

A bemused smile played about Tom's face as he surveyed the scene below him. The TARDIS's front door was left slightly ajar and a dull glow came from the inside. Tom remembered the program in which the TARDIS played a key role and thought back to the afternoons that they had spent watching it together round each other's houses, back when neither of them knew they were mutants.

They used to enjoy the adventures through space and time that the TARDIS's owner, The Doctor, frequently embarked upon. He remembered the frenzied discussions they'd had about what owning a TARDIS would be like. Still... It was years ago... everything had changed now.

Tom surfed a thin ice slide down to the chamber below, landing unsteadily in front of the blue machine.

Distant memories concerning facts about the TARDIS began to re-surface.

"_It only looks like a Police Box because of the chamaeleon circuit, which enabled it to look like almost anything so that it could blend in with it's surroundings...," _he remembered, reaching out to touch the wooden door, _"People don't notice it unless they're looking for it because of another special device called the Perception Filter... we used to imagine what it would be like to have a perception filter...," _he pushed the door further open to reveal the insides, _"The inside is much, much bigger then the outside because the inside exists in a different dimension to the outside... it's complicated...," _he stepped into a large, dome-like chamber that was lit with a dull green light that was being emitted by the console in the centre of the room.

The console was made up of various jumbled pieces of technology that all seemed to have a particular function. In the centre of the circular console was a large transparent column that stretched up to the ceiling. Two smaller cylinders were contained inside this clear tube, and he remembered that, when the TARDIS was travelling, these two smaller cylinders would rise and fall to indicate engine speed.

The console itself was on a raised circular catwalk made from metal. This platform was raised by another platform, slightly bigger and more like a giant hexagon but still made up of metal. A small ramp (made from bricks) led from the doors to the first platform, enabling an occupant to make their way up without much strain due to climbing.

A low hum was emanating from the console and a steady, lazy throb of sound echoed through the room. Entity stood behind the console and in front of a small screen attached to the central column. His face was lit slightly by the blue glow of the screen and the chairs behind him also seemed bathed in the strange light.

Entity looked up, and for a slip second, seemed to smile at Tom's reaction. Tom was stood in the door way, looking around the room with an indescribable look of sheer amazement. He stepped forwards, still admiring his surroundings as the doors sealed behind him with a click.

"... How?" he asked, after making his way (slowly) to the centre platform.

"Anything's possible when dimensions are concerned," Entity replied, concentrating on the screen in front of him.

"I... don't suppose you could... make other things?" Tom asked, out of nothing else to say.

"I was pushing my luck with this," Entity responded, cautiously reaching to his left and pressing a small gold button.

He acted as if he was reading a set of on-screen instruction, but when Tom made his way around to Entity's side of the console, the screen displayed heaps of symbols but no instructions that he could make out. Many unusual pictures rotated and clicked into place with other symbols, but none of it made any sense.

Entity frowned and reached to his right to rotate what looked like a glass paperweight three times to the left. A strange bleep made Tom jump a little, but he calmed quickly and asked, "What do the symbols mean?"

"It's the TARDIS's language, but that's not how we're communicating," Entity replied, smiling slightly.

Tom gave him a sly look before continuing, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Entity's reply was simple, but effective,

"Yes."

Tom smiled and gazed up at the central core.

"Is it the real thing?" he asked, reaching out to touch a button on the console.

His hand was stopped by an invisible force as Entity replied,

"It's a _version _of the real thing. If it's a mental creation of mine, it may differ from the actual TARDIS that we knew."

"Kay," Tom said simply, still finding it hard to believe.

His expression must've obviously shown his dis-belief, as Entity straightened up and looked at him.

"I'll prove it, if you want," He said, a small grin formed on his face.

Tom grinned back as he replied, "You're going to anyway, no matter what I say."

Entity nodded, flicking a switch to his left without even looking.

"I have to get it up to my room, remember," he informed, turning his attention towards the console and hitting various buttons and devices as he went.

"Okay then, but if we land on Mars-," Tom began, but Entity cut in,

"You'll kill me? Stop quoting Jackie Tyler," he said, running to the other side of the console and rotating another paper-weight-like device.

The chamber shuddered slightly. Tom grabbed the chairs for support, just in case.

"Do you know what you're doing?" he asked, almost afraid.

"Yup... I'm getting a stream of instruction fed into my brain... just lock the temporal perimeter, release the quantum stabilisers, set new co-ordinates that relate to a real-time destination and Tom, if you'd like to pull that lever?" he asked, pointing to a small lever in front of Tom before grabbing the side of the console.

Tom reached slowly forwards and pushed the trigger. As soon as it clicked into place, the chamber shook and filled with a sound that they both knew very well from the old television show,

"**VWOORP... VWOORP... VWOORP...,"**

The metallic grating sound grew progressively louder and Tom began to wonder wether they'd wake anyone up. The room was shaking quite viciously and both wondered when it would stop. After more of the grinding sounds from the engines and the two smaller cylinders in the central column began to slow their up-and-down motion, the room stood still and all fell quiet, save the steady heart-beat-like sound of the console.

"Are we there yet?" Tom asked, shaking him self free of the spell of the trip.

"Step outside and see," Entity suggested, pointing towards the doors at the front of the room.

Tom moved over to them, closely followed by Entity, and the pair of them stepped out into Entity's dormitory.

"It works...," muttered Entity, careful not to let his excitement overpower him and destroy the room.

"I think we've found a new mode of transport...," Tom replied, turning to face the blue box.

"Quite... now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep," Entity smiled, not looking at Tom, but gazing in admiration at the TARDIS.

"Come off it! With this in here, you'll never get to sleep!" Tom laughed, thumping him playfully in the arm.

At that moment, as soon as he'd hit Entity's arm, Tom realised he was keeping Jubilee waiting. Without another word, he left the room, glancing over his shoulder one last time to look at the machine before he closed the door.

Entity was left in the room, staring at the TARDIS with eyes that were looking into the future and past. So many new ideas arrived in his head, making him feel tired already. After leaving briefly to brush his teeth, he returned and climbed into his repaired bed, still watching the TARDIS, and planning as he fell slowly to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9, The Persistence Of Memory

**The Persistence Of Memory**

_It sounded like thunder..._

_The fire, raining down upon the land..._

_The cataclysmic battle between two ancient forces..._

His mind burned, set alight by the most recent nightmare...

_Remember the sky,_

_Remember the land,_

_Remember the war,_

_Remember the death,_

_The blood,_

_The boiling rage that ignited the inferno of hate within your soul..._

_Remember?_

"I remember...," he whispered at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

_Revenge..._

_You swore..._

_You swore on the blood of your brethren!_

_Remember them?_

_Your family?_

_Remember!_

"I remember... everything...," Entity whispered again, a silent, silvery tear rolling down his black-scaled cheek and landing quietly on the floor to disappear, like a memory.

Images stormed through his brain...

They hurt...

The mirror cracked, splitting the boys image into fragments. Each one depicted the dragon as a silent, un-moving character standing alone in a white room. His wings fluttered slightly, but his face remained set in a frown. His jaw was slightly open, revealing his sharp fangs and forked tongue. His eyes stared past the mirror and into himself, searching through the memories, seeking the truth.

He remembered...

Who he was...

Who he'll be...

What he'd done...

He had lost himself to time... but now he'd returned...


	10. Chapter 10, Mind The Author

**Mind The Author**

The day had started like any other, with the exception that there were no available missions for the European team. Out of boredom, Entity and Sub-zero had decided to bring Phantom (Who was now awake and fully recovered) and Shadow on their first trip in the TARDIS.

Phantom, being a long-time fan of the television series 'Doctor Who', almost fainted when she'd stepped into the TARDIS for the first time. Shadow just kept making amazed remarks and commenting on the impossibility of the internal dimensions.

After the initial shock had worn off, they searched for a destination. It was at this time that it was discovered, due to it being created by Entity's mind, it had the ability to travel through dimensions as well as normal time and space.

This trait was not shared with the TARDIS's television counterpart, so there was a great deal of excitement over the prospect of being able to go, literally, where ever the hell they wanted to go.

"I have an idea," Sub-zero interrupted, leaning back on the support rails behind him, "You see, I've been writing this story... so I'm wondering... is it possible for us to go into a story dimension?"

"So long as you don't decide to change anything about your story world while we're there. It's very dangerous to be inside a creation of someone else's," Entity explained, beginning to operate the console (more comfortably then he had done previously.

"I promise not to change a thing... God, this is gonna be so cool...," Tom began thinking through the things they could do when they arrived.

"Wait, we're going into his story? I'll have to write about a land filled with a never-ending supply of chocolate sandwiches, then we have to go there," Steve joked, licking his lips and laughing slightly.

"Yuck... I despise chocolate spread...," Jess commented, pulling a face as she thought about being surrounded by the chocolate monstrosities.

"One at a time, please," Tom called, grinning.

"Right, so what's in your story? Anything we ought to be worried about?" Entity asked as the room began to shudder and the time roto began to oscillate.

Tom had to raise his voice to be hear over the engines, "No! It's basically just all elves, dwarfs and dragons and stuff!"

Entity's expression changed for a moment upon the mention of dragons, but nobody noticed, and he just carried on with the controls.

"Hold on! Dimensional travel takes a lot of power!" Entity called above the now roaring temporal engines.

"If we die, I'll kill you!" Jess yelled across the room, joking, but still slightly anxious.

The room slammed to a halt and the four mutants were shunted to the ground.

"This room needs padding..." Steve complained, picking himself up and dusting himself off.

"Agreed... I could've broke something," Jess said, massaging her wrist.

"Okay Tom, outside that door is your dimension. I'm not going because I have other things to do but be back here in an hour," Entity ordered, releasing the door locks and indicating towards them with a nod.

"Why aren't you coming?" asked Jess, tilting her head.

"He wants some quality time with the TARDIS," Stephen joked, battering his eyelids and sighing in mock appreciation.

"Awww, TARDIS lover boy! We'll see you later, if your date doesn't take longer then an hour," Jess continued the joke, following Stephen out of the door.

Entity smiled as Tom left, mainly because Tom rolled his eyes at the others before leaving, but also because he found their antics to be amusing.

Alone, Entity opened a communication channel back to their home dimension. He hadn't realised before, but someone had been trying to call him before they left. Entity hopped around the console, trying to open an inter-dimensional communications frequency. It took a lot of power, but eventually, he got one open.

"Farsight? And to what do I owe this pleasure?" Entity asked the screen's image of an older boy.

"I thought I'd let you know, concerning your previous call, you have very little time left...," he said in a low voice.

"I know," replied Entity, blankly, "They're coming."

**Another short chapter, practically pointless but allowing a display of the new TARDIS's capabilities along with another, growing, mystery. I hope you enjoyed.**


	11. Chapter 11, Heartache And The Oncoming

**Heartache And The Oncoming Storm**

_It's been three years since we last communicated. Farsight's message that he sent to the TARDIS was the last I heard of him until today, three years later, when he contacted me psychically._

_Things have moved on since we last spoke. The European team has recruited many more members to the X-men and all of them are skilled, efficient members of the team._

_Kyle Ready, also known as Hotshot, joined shortly after a mission to prevent the Brotherhood destroying all humans on England's side of the planet. He is able to move at superhuman speeds and generate fire at will. He is generally sensible but likes to joke about as much as Shadow does._

_Connall Scott, known as Quake, joined after I, his cousin, told him about the team. He is able to control the ground beneath him and produce seismic waves powerful enough to sink a small island. _

_Atlanta Story, currently known as Vortex, is a young girl who was saved by the team when her house was attacked by a fleet of Sentinels. Her ability to partially manipulate the weather is the reason why Storm is so keen to train her. Her telepathic powers are also highly potent, and training from Jean Grey, Xavier and I are helping her gain mastery over her powers._

_I'm also happy to tell you that the X-men now consider the TARDIS as a primary mode of transport. The X-jet is sometimes favoured though, as it experiences less turbulence. _

_I am also glad to tell you that Thomas Jenkinson, better known as Sub-zero, has maintained a happy relationship with Jubilee over the years, but he has yet to admit it to everyone else, despite the fact that everyone knows already._

_Stephen Blanchard, aka Shadow, is now an experienced member of the team and enjoys spending time in the laboratory developing new upgrades for the Danger Room and various other gadgets. His jokes are still no better then they used to be._

_Jessica Percival, aka Phantom, enjoys spending time in the library. Her powers have developed further then expected and she is arguably one of the most powerful members of the team, though she'll never admit it. She has become somewhat withdrawn, preferring solitude rather then joining in with others. Sometimes, she reminds me of myself._

_As for me, Matthew, better known as Entity, I'm currently standing on a rooftop overlooking the south side of Long Island, New York, in the rain, at three o'clock in the morning. Why?_

_I'm waiting. Waiting for an apparently important message from an old ally, Farsight._

There was no moon that night, just thick clouds and the occasional star in the heavy blanket of darkness that fell over the city. The sound of sirens in the distance and the distant roar of traffic filled the air, along with the constant patter of raindrops that hammered down upon the roads, rooftops, trees, cars and any other surface that was exposed to the weather.

The yellows and whites that erupted from various windows cast strange shadows and reflected off puddles and damp ground in the streets. The lights cut through the dark like knives, allowing you to see them from miles away.

Entity stood silently in the pouring rain, his trench coat swirling out behind him with a mind of it's own. His eyes surveyed the city with no sign of emotion. His face bore no expression and the only thing that stood out was the glimmer of the silver 'X' on his belt.

His head turned slightly, as if something behind him had moved.

"It's been a while," he stated, turning his attention back to the city.

From the shadows behind him stepped a man clad in black leather. Multiple guns hung from his belt and his skin bore many scars. His piercing eyes glinted oddly in the dark and with a smooth, almost liquid precision, he spoke,

"It has. Time passes without much care for those who need it."

"True, but if one could pass _through _it, it's care is not required," Entity replied, a small smile playing about his lips.

"Also true," Farsight responded, drawing level with the other occupant of the rooftop.

"You have something to tell me?" Entity asked, pocketing his hands and raising his head slightly.

Farsight stood in silence for moments, considering what to say. The only sound was that of the city below and the thunderous rainstorm, but they faded into the background.

"I see the future in images... sometimes scrambled and with little meaning. Their importance and relevance can vanish in the blink of an eye, or melt away slowly, like the dream you begin to forget as soon as you wake up," Farsight began, his attention switching between the streets below and the young man stood next to him.

"The future is always in motion," Entity stated, as if he were reciting something that had been said before a thousand times, "It's never possible to predict with one-hundred percent accuracy what will happen within the course of history."

"Yes, I know, but the images I have seen... they keep visiting me. Every time I close my eyes, I see the future in thousands of ways and I know, I am certain, that something is coming. Something terrible," Farsight explained, closing his eyes as if recalling a distant event.

Entity looked at him, blankly. His eyes retained a look of curiosity, but his expression was un-readable as usual, "I know."

"Then also know this. I know you are keeping something from him. From all of them. I do not know what it is that you are so careful to hide but I know that, unless you have his help and the support of the team, you and this planet stand no chance. You have to tell him the truth," Farsight urged, staring at Entity with an almost fearful look.

"And what would he think of me?" Entity asked, glaring directly into the eyes of the other mutant, "What would they all think of me if they knew what I really was? What would they do if they knew where I was really from? What I did? What I _still do_? I can't just turn around and plunge them into the middle of something they could never understand!"

Entity turned sharply and walked to the other side of the rooftop, peering out across to the horizon where the golden sunlight was filtering over the city.

"They will never understand if you do not let them try. If you do not tell them the truth, all is lost for the humans, the mutants and you," Farsight warned, turning to face Entity but staying where he was.

Entity stood on the edge, his head hung in solemn thought,

"When the time is right, and when they are _ready_ to know, I will tell them," he said, his voice filled with a dark sadness that sent a wave of sympathy through Farsight's mind.

Without another word shared between them, Entity dove from the rooftop and swooped into the silent night's sky, his coat rippling behind him like disturbed water. Farsight watched him go with a concerned look, ignoring the heavy rain that soaked his clothes and clouded his vision. Turning away from the gradually disappearing mutant, he too leapt from the roof and landed in the alley below, erasing himself from the sight of others by sinking into the shadows.

As the mansion drew closer and closer, Entity's mind began to race. Decisions and choices now lay ahead of him that he doubted his ability to make. The familiar glow of his dormitory window illuminated his pale, damp features. His short, dark brown hair was soaked through and was still dripping when he landed nimbly on the carpet of his room.

A brilliant flame surrounded him and engulfed his entire body. It swirled in hypnotic patterns and lapped at the ceiling before dispersing with a wave of his hand. His clothes were un-damaged, but were now dry and warm.

He sighed a comforted sigh and sat down neatly in his bed, thoughts jamming into his brain that made his entire body hurt. His brow furrowed and he tried to shut them out, but only half succeeded. It nearly drove him mad when the thoughts in his head were easily recognisable as not his, but belonging to the Negative Phoenix. So many urges and desires, it often forced him into an unconscious state for hours.

His multiple trains of thought were interrupted suddenly when the knocking on the door became apparent to him.

"Come in," he called, not loudly, but enough for the person to hear.

Into the room stepped Alison Crestmere, known amongst the X-men as Magma. Entity felt his heart begin to beat steadily faster as she closed the door behind her, not removing her attention from him.

"Hey Alison," he greeted, smiling ever-so-slightly.

She smiled warmly before waving, "Hey Matt."

"Ahem, having a bad night?" he asked, wondering why she was up so early.

"I was looking for you... Xavier wanted me to give you this," she explained, handing him a floppy disk labelled 'Symbiote Files'.

"I haven't seen this in years... what does he want me to do with it?" asked Entity, getting up to place the disk on his bedside cabinet.

"He said there was something in there that you ought to read," she said, grinning oddly.

"Are you okay?" Entity asked, turning to face her.

There was something in her tone that struck Matthew as odd... was she afraid?

"I wanted to ask you something... or, to tell you something, rather...," she began, stammering as her face flushed a deep shade of red.

Entity's breath caught in his throat. He began silently begging her not to ask what he assumed she was about to ask.

"What I want to say is... well... I wanted to know wether the rumour was true... because they said.. Well... do you... love me?" she asked, weakly, he eyes filled with an obvious hope and she gently bit her lip.

Behind them both, the window shuddered slightly and the small cupboard that stood at the end of Entity's bed collapsed suddenly. Entity's heart was racing faster by the second and it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

"I-... I... Alison I... I can't...," he struggled, his face bore a look of regret, but otherwise remained relatively calm.

Her shoulders relaxed and her face seemed to fall. She seemed understanding, but upset, nonetheless.

"My powers... I can't... love... it's dangerous," he explained, softly, looking anywhere but at the girl in front of him.

"I know... it was stupid of me to-... anyway, Xavier has something on that disk that he wants you to see, so make sure you look at it," she said, opening the door and giving a small smile before she left.

As soon as the door closed, Entity heard her sigh and knew that he had greatly upset her.

"... Sorry...," he whispered, staring at where she had been standing.

His heat relaxed and slowed it's pace. He remained sat there, thoughts streaming through his head once more, along with painful memories and words that he remembered all too well.

Shaking his head free of the depressed spiral he was on, he flicked open his laptop at the foot of his bed and loaded the disk. He browsed through the information with growing interest and as he reached Professor Xavier's added comments, his eyes widened and his mind ignited.

A normal life was possible after all...


	12. 12, The Fury Of The Negative Phoenix

**The Fury Of The Negative Phoenix**

Thunder exploded through the air, plunging the yells of men into momentary silence as the rumble continued. The rain viciously hammered down upon the small base, soaking the soldiers that guarded the doors. Lightning split the sky, briefly illuminating the large metal building and the worried faces of the people manning the gun turrets.

"Incoming!" a distant cry signalled, causing the massive turrets to swivel heavily towards the sky and the men to scurry to their various battle stations.

In the distance, barely visible through the rain and darkness, a gigantic object loomed over the mountains with a low hum and sailed through the air towards them.

"Open fire!" the order was screamed across the courtyard.

With deafening blasts, the gun-turrets sent spheres of plasma hurtling through the air at the target. The shots disappeared into the night, only to be followed by wave after wave of similar bullets.

The SHIELD helli-carrier drew closer, veering slightly to avoid the full force of the attack. The plasma exploded against the underside of the flying base and sent shards of metal raining down upon the area below.

More stuttering blasts, and a hail of laser fire fell from the sky like the rain, cutting up thousands of the soldiers below. Helicopters were launched from the helli-carrier and the base beneath them soon had their defences crushed in the never-ending attack. Men from ropes dropped to the ground, splashing down onto the blood-stained ground before running towards any entrance they were able to find.

Desperate yells erupted from within the base's halls and as the laboratories were broken in to, the troops began to withdraw.

A tall man with an eye-patch and slightly greyed hair spoke calmly into the microphone attached to his uniform,

"The symbiote has been located, all men withdraw immediately, good job, soldiers."

The rain sub-sided, quietly revealing the scenes of destruction that were all that remained of the small base. In mere minutes, all personnel had been brutally killed and their workplaces had been demolished, their research stolen.

The worst part is, they left no survivors. No one would ever know the cause of the damage and death, for that was the way of SHIELD. They took what they wanted, and vanished into the sky without batting an eyelid.

It had not taken them long to suit-up and climb aboard the X-jet. Their mission was simple, and their objectives clear, yet no-one seemed sure of how they were going to go about liberating the stolen item.

"We're talking about SHIELD headquarters, here! How are we expected to even get _in _there? Let alone _steal _from them?" Sub-zero asked, waving his hands in gestures that exaggerated the madness of their task.

"We can get in easily, it's getting _out_ again that you ought to be worried about," Shadow warned, staring out of the window at the dark clouds they were passing.

"Entity, you haven't said a word all day. You okay?" Phantom asked, leaning forwards to peer around to the front of the pilot's seat so that she could look at the silent mutant.

"I'm fine... just a little... shaken," he said quietly, not removing his attention from the flight.

"Why shaken?" she asked, raising an eyebrow but retaining a concerned look.

"Because we're breaking into _SHIELD!_" Sub-zero said again, almost yelling in dis-belief.

"It's not that," Entity said, flicking a switch to his left as the X-jet cloaked, disappearing from the sky with a fluid ripple and vanishing completely from any radar system in the world.

"Why the hell do we even need to get the symbiote back?!" Shadow asked, also leaning forwards, forcing himself into the conversation.

"Because we know that SHIELD want to use it as a weapon and they can't be allowed to try that again after what happened last time," Entity explained. As Phantom watched him, an expression crossed his face that she couldn't quite understand.

"This is a bit advanced for us, don'tcha think?" Shadow asked, switching his anxious stare between Sub-zero and Entity.

"No, two teams are going in, so it shouldn't be too hard," Entity informed.

"Two? Oooo, now I feel safe," Shadow commented, sarcastically he rolled his eyes and the familiar 'I-hate-you-all' expression appeared on his face.

"One team, consisting of Jean, Cyclops, Wolverine and Storm, are going to make sure that the reinforcements don't get here whilst the other team (That's us) goes after the symbiote," Entity explained, going over what Xavier had told him.

"So we go in, get the item, then get out," Shadow recited, making sure he had it right.

"Correct," Entity confirmed, dryly.

"What are we going to do with it once we're back home?" Phantom asked, a knowing expression crossing her face.

Entity fell silent, evidently with-holding information from them.

"Aha! I knew you were hiding something!" Phantom exclaimed, happy that she had discovered something else before anyone else had picked up on it. Her grin turned to an expectant look as she tried to pry more information.

"Xavier sent me a disk," Entity began to explain, not looking any of them in the eye, "It contained information that was stored on the computer that we downloaded years ago. The files contained information on the symbiote and after reading through it, Beast made a few... discoveries."

"Ah... what kind of discoveries?" Sub-zero asked, fixing Entity with a dis-approving glare.

"He found that the symbiote is able to grant it's host amplified telepathic abilities. Years ago, when the symbiote was on it's own, it was able to telepathically force a crowd of beings to commit suicide. Forcing something living to commit suicide, by the way, is extremely difficult because the survival instinct is strong," Entity continued to explain in a very down-to-Earth manner, with an expression one might expect from a scientist explaining quantum physics to a group of three-year-olds.

"Your point being?" Sub-zero asked, turning his gaze to the sky outside, the grim mood began pouring off him like a waterfall. His mind was racing. Angry questions were flying through his head as he wondered why he hadn't told them before.

"My point being, when it became Venom by bonding with Eddie Brock, who had no psychic potential what so ever, it was able to amplify it's telepathic powers so that it bypassed Spider-man's spider-sense and evoked fear in him," Entity stopped talking for a moment before continuing in a quieter voice,

"Beast and Xavier think, if the symbiote bonded with me, _my _telepathy would increase to a level that out did the Negative Phoenix... As a result, I'd be able to over-ride the thing's hold on me and maybe shut away the Negative Phoenix's personality permanently," he concluded, bracing himself for the reaction of the others.

"You think that thing's gonna help you? You do know that we're talking about the evil alien dude that keeps trying to kill people?!" Sub-zero asked, the anger clearly showing in his voice.

"Venom isn't evil, he just despises Spider-man. He has a twisted sense of morality and won't harm anyone unless they stand between him and Spidey," Entity defended, a slight tone of annoyance in the way he spoke.

"What the hell?! What makes you think that it'll work? How do you know he'll co-operate?" Sub-zero continued to grow more and more aggravated.

"Because I'm the perfect host for him. He currently survives without a host and can maintain a humanoid form but only if he feeds off of other life-forms as often as he can. My body draws an infinite stream of life-energy from the Negative Phoenix and that means, since Eddie Brock's dead, that I'm a both efficient and compatible host. If you still have any doubts, it may interest you to know that me and the symbiote have been communicating for the past few hours and it seems interested in the idea," Entity finished, forcing Sub-zero into a dumbfounded silence.

Phantom backed away slightly, not wanting to get involved whilst tension was high.

"Calm down guys," Shadow said, rolling his eyes.

Sub-zero and Entity had been growing further and further apart over the three years that they had been working together. Sub-zero always felt that Entity was hiding something and it was times like this that seemed to prove his theory.

"Tell me to calm down again and I'll freeze you solid," Sub-zero snapped, raising a fist, threateningly.

"Back off," Entity ordered, a warning tone in his voice.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Sub-zero asked Entity, folding his arms but ready for a fight.

"I'm going to ignore you for the rest of the journey in case you piss me off any further," Entity stated darkly, swerving the jet a little as they approached their target.

"Stop it! You're both acting like jerks!" Phantom yelled, silencing Sub-zero who had been opening his mouth to respond.

"Guys, you're seventeen and you're both acting like ten-year-olds," Shadow commented, shaking his head in dis-belief.

Just then, in the distance, they spotted the helli-carrier in all it's dark metal glory. Thin streams of smoke indicated battle-damage and shards of metal were still falling away from the hull. It was soon larger then a pinprick in the distance, and shortly after, Entity brought the jet to an unsteady landing on the surface of the vessel before un-buckling and climbing out as fast as he could.

Seconds later, the entire team dropped onto the soaked deck of the SHIELD base, nervous glances surveying the area.

"No troops... they must be taking a coffee break," Shadow quipped, much to the annoyance of the rest of the team.

"Lets find a way down," Sub-zero ordered, walking quickly to a nearby blast-door.

He sent a cone of ice at the door and as the thick, clear layer formed, Phantom leapt through to the other side. The sound of straining gears threatened to alert the guards to their presence, but after Shadow smashed the ice with a fist of ice energy, the sound stopped and the door slid effortlessly open.

"There was an 'open' switch on this side of the door," Phantom stated, smiling in a smart-ass fashion.

"Show off," muttered Shadow, following her down the dully-lit hallway.

A deep red light was all that illuminated them as the team carefully stepped down the corridor. Entity whipped a small computer-device from his belt and checked a holographic map of the base that illuminated his face in a dull green hue.

"The symbiote's in the lower chambers... it's never behind the first door, is it?" Entity said, returning the device to his belt and turning to check the hall behind them, in case they were being followed.

"It'd be too easy if it were," Shadow replied, poking his head round a corner to check for any sign of life, "You sure they only took care of reinforcements and not the whole crew?"

"There are people on board," Phantom warned, indicating down the hall opposite the direction Shadow had been checking.

Three men in SHIELD uniforms were leant against a wall, re-loading their weapons.

'BAMF!'

The three guards were reduced to one after Shadow appeared in front of them and kicked them in the face with a graceful backflip. The last one ran down the hall, straight into the rest of the team. Sub-zero lurched forwards and smacked him in the jaw before anyone else could get to him. As soon as he hit the ground, he froze in a thick layer of ice.

Sub-zero smirked and ran off down the passage, soon followed by the others. He stopped at a closed door and turned to Phantom.

"Wait," Entity said, as if hearing something, "Phantom, can you sink us through the floor?"

She considered the option for a few seconds before nodding slowly. She reached out and grabbed Entity's hand, reached behind her and grabbed Sub-zero's arm and Entity quickly grabbed Shadow's tail as they dropped down through the metal floor. Shadow felt his stomach lurch, but recovered as they landed and entire three floors below the one they were on to start with.

"Incoming," Sub-zero warned, rolling out of the way of the five-strong unit of SHIELD agents that were aiming at the teenagers that had just dropped through the cieling.

Phantom quickly turned intangible as they opened fire. The bullets whizzed harmlessly through her as she backed into the wall to her left. Shadow had teleported into the shadows where he ducked to avoid the incoming hail of bullets.

The only one that didn't move was Entity, who stood perfectly still as the bullets harmlessly bounced off the organic plating of his draconic chest. The agents stopped, staring with horrified eyes at the ferocious-looking dragon that now stood ahead of them. Entity took a step forwards, and they dropped their weapons to the floor with various clatters and raised their hands above their heads.

Entity couldn't help but smile a sharp-toothed grin as he watched them tremble. He stayed back, not wanting to make them panic, but instead used telekinesis to slam them into the wall behind them, effectively knocking them out, but keeping them alive. Death was not his to give.

The rest of the team emerged from their positions just as more units rolled out from the corner. They took aim and opened fire, just as Entity projected a telekinetic barrier around the team. Shadow teleported at them and kicked up at the front man's jaw, sending him into the air. He spun his whip-like tail at the legs of the next two soldiers and flipped them onto their backs. Teleporting to avoid the bullets of the next three, he retreated to the safety of the shadows.

Phantom rose up through the floor in front of the guard at the back of the formation and smiled, blasting his face with enough energy to sent him convulsing into the wall where the other soldiers had slumped to the ground. She turned and grabbed the two men in front of her by the backs of their necks and sent large amounts of electrical energy coursing through them, knocking them out.

Sub-zero slid at the feet of the next batch and tripped them up before freezing them in a block of ice. Cold, but not un-conscious, they tried to claw their way out, just as Sub-zero's fist smashed through the ice block and he continued by pinning them to the walls using spikes made from solid ice. As they stared at him with hateful eyes, he gagged them with parts of their own uniforms and backed up to examine his work.

"A true masterpiece," Shadow complimented, "Call it, 'GI Joe's Cool Friends' By Sub-zero."

Sub-zero grinned and ran to the end of the corridor,

"_I suppose_ _his jokes aren't always corny," _he thought, surveying the passage ahead of them.

Entity ran past them and turned a sharp corner, his tail disappearing round the bend just as the others began to follow. They emerged in a large staircase leading down. The metal steps clanged loudly beneath their boots (and in Entity's case, claws) and it was a miracle that the entire base didn't know where they were.

About six flights down, they encountered a group of soldiers that had obviously been expecting their arrival. The second Entity emerged from the stairs, they opened fire, this time using rockets. Entity had no choice but to fold his large wings in front of him and brace for impact as the missiles hurtled at them.

Sub-zero managed to stop one by freezing it before it hit, but the others hit the ground in front of them with an explosions that sent the mutants slamming backwards into the hard metal wall behind them.

"Don't let them through!" came a commanding voice from up ahead.

It was instantly recognisable as the voice of Cornel Nick Fury, head of SHIELD operations. The team of mutants were on their hands and knees, recovering from the blast. As Sub-zero looked up, he spotted Fury taking an elevator at the end of the hall. In his hands he carried a conical flask that contained a thick black fluid.

"He's got it... h-he's got the symbiote!" Sub-zero spluttered, gritting his teeth as he picked himself up.

The soldiers raised their weapons again but they flipped out of their hands as if they had jumped. They were suddenly hammered into the sides of the corridor by and invisible force that held them there before allowing them to slump to the ground. Sub-zero turned to congratulate Entity on a good manoeuver but fell silent when he noticed his ally's dark expression.

Entity got to his feet slowly and began to walk down the corridor with a stride, not waiting for the rest of the team. He reached the elevator doors and, using his amplified strength that he gained in dragon-form, ripped them clean off to reveal the open elevator shaft.

"Hey! Wait up, can you?!" called Sub-zero, annoyed at his friend's sudden ignorance towards the others.

Entity turned sharply and fixed him with a glare. He reverted back to human form, his tail, wings and scales disappearing from sight.

"The symbiote is the only thing on this Earth that can give me my life back. The Negative Phoenix took my humanity away from me and I'm NOT going to let Nick Fury take away the only chance I have of getting it back!" Entity yelled, turning back to the elevator opening.

"Fuck you!" Sub-zero yelled back, his temper boiling over, "I've had it with you putting yourself before others! Give a damn about someone other then yourself for a change!"

Entity stopped still. An ominous silence fell upon them as Entity slowly turned back around.

"Myself before others?" he repeated, quietly, but loud enough for Sub-zero to hear, "That's what you think I was doing when I saved you from Sentinels all that time ago? That's what you think I was doing when I almost _died _saving you all from a nuclear meltdown? You think that I keep all of my emotions locked away out of _selfishness?!_"

Sub-zero backed away sightly as he realised the corridor was beginning to shudder.

"There are over six billion human beings on this planet and every second of every day I can hear them! Their thoughts are screaming through my head and they won't stop! I spend every moment of my life at constant war with myself... I spend _every second _of _my_ life protecting _you_ and the rest of the world from the Negative Phoenix and you turn around and accuse me of PUTTING MYSELF BEFORE _OTHERS?!" _Entity yelled in rage, a seething hatred burning in his eyes that Sub-zero had never seen before, "I CAN'T LIVE! I CAN'T _HATE! _I CAN'T _LOVE!" _He roared, bitter sadness was clearly audible in his shaking voice, "I'm _scared_... _all the time_... and so _alone_..." His speech collapsed, reducing the sound to pain-filled, anguished sobs that gradually lost more and more control, "It hurts...," he whispered to himself, falling to his knees and clutching his head in pain. He was struggling to keep control... but failing.

Sub-zero was lost for words, feelings flooding him that conflicted, and confused. He started to speak, wanting to undo what he'd said, but as soon as his lips moved, a blood-curdling roar filled his ears and he was slammed backwards with a forceful blast of telekinetic energy. The corridor groaned in strain and the walls began to buckle inwards and the metal dented and twisted out of shape.

Entity threw back his head and manic laughter reverberated within the team's skulls as their teammate's personality quickly altered. His eyes were perfectly white and seemed to burn with unseen energy. Black veins showed clearly on his face and a brilliant fire surrounded him, swirling in a violent inferno, melting the surrounding metal as it took the shape of a Phoenix.

With a psychotic laughter that sent fear into the hearts of the whole team, the Negative Phoenix blasted up through the top of the corridor, chasing the head of SHIELD.

Phantom, Shadow and Sub-zero stood with mixed expressions. Non of them were prepared for this, and now they had no idea how they should continue.

"What do we do?" Shadow asked after moments of stunned silence. His voice was little more then a whisper, and shook with the fear within him.

Sub-zero thought as quickly as he could, thinking through everything he knew abut the Phoenix.

"He could've killed all of us _and _Nick Fury without moving an inch, which means that he's toying with Nick first... We have to save Fury... he deserves it a thousand times over but it shouldn't be by one of us... least of all Matt," Sub-zero said, running his hands through his hair and staring around as if looking for some thing that might tell them what to do.

"He's not going to kill us..." Shadow stated, attempting to stay calm, " If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it already... which means that Entity still has some control over it."

"Which means the Negative Phoenix isn't at full strength...," Phantom added, frowning as her mind figured the situation out.

"But it's still more then a match for all of us,"Sub-zero finished, grabbing Phantom by the shoulders before asking her, "Can you get us to the top of the base?"

She stayed quiet, concentrating, before responding, "Yes, but hold on tight."

She grabbed them both and dove into the wall. Once inside the surface, she lifted upwards as fast as she could, propelling the three of them through the wall towards the top of the helli-carrier.

She began to tire quickly, and they began to slow down, but not before being able to climb weakly out of the floor and onto the damp surface that made up the deck of the SHIELD base.

Phantom, exhausted, collapsed, gasping for breath. The other two mutants shook themselves off and spent seconds getting used to the shuddering of the vessel.

Shadow, looking around, suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of Nick Fury's gun. He froze, unsure of what to do but merely coughing to get the other's attention.

"Looks like I've got myself some targets," Fury said, a smile spreading across his face.

"Listen, we're all in danger! You have to-," Phantom began, but Fury cut her off by firing into the air.

"Quiet, girlie!" he commanded, returning the gun to Shadow's head and examining their expressions. He seemed to be evaluating their threat level at the same time.

He stopped what he was doing when he realised that they weren't paying attention to him, but were staring at something behind him with looks of terror.

"Hey! Pay attention!" he barked, as they continued to stare, "Class ain't dismissed!"

Curious as to what they were staring at, he turned around and found himself staring into thepearl-white eyes of the Negative Phoenix, who was regarding him with a look of slight amusement. Immediately, he whipped the gun around and fired as many shots as he could at the mutant that had appeared behind him. He stopped firing when he realised that the bullets had stopped in mid-air, inches away from the Negative Phoenix's face.

The gun in his hands crumpled like paper, dropping to the floor with a heavy thud as it began to melt away.

"Think you're pretty clever, don't you?" Nick stated, swinging a fist at the now grinning being.

A small explosion of telekinetic energy sent Fury hurtling across the deck and into a large metal communications tower. The Negative Phoenix rose into the air, consumed by flames that illuminated the entire deck. The twisting fire formed itself into the shape of a phoenix and screamed with rage.

The whole helli-carrier shuddered, as if experiencing an artificial earthquake. The front end of the ship, which was behind the flaming being, began to tear itself apart with the sound of grinding metal. Huge plates of steel and iron were ripped up from the deck and sent spinning into the air, where they broke into smaller pieces.

The Negative Phoenix raised it's arms and laughed into the sky as the demolition continued, eyes wide with frenzied joy. Sections of the front of the ship were bending themselves off and then disintegrating, sending tiny fragments of metal spinning in a small hurricane around the entire base.

It was an incredible scene to watch, yet absolutely terrifying. The sound of screeching metal, rumbling and fire was all the European team could hear, and all they could do was watch and hope.

Nick Fury got up, still holding the symbiote canister, and dragged another weapon out of his belt. Loading it quickly, he aimed at the Negative Phoenix and fired, again and again.

The bullets were melting before they even got close as the expanding bubble of heat began to melt the floor. It was then that they heard the screaming. Looking up, SHIELD soldiers were being dragged out of the ship and slammed around. A sickening crack drew the attention of the team and they turned around to discover the body of a SHIELD agent, slammed into the deck with enough force to leave a dent, and to break his neck.

Huge explosions erupted from the belly of the helli-carrier and the roaring pillars of flame that emerged were twisted around the ship like a rope, by invisible hands.

Sub-zero spotted the X-jet, now de-cloaked, parked on the deck mere metres away.

"Shadow, get the symbiote, Phantom, come with me!" he called, running at the jet.

Shadow teleported and grabbed the flask from Fury, who attempted to swipe him with a fist. Before he could hit him though, Shadow teleported back and entered the jet, placing the flask in a small cupboard at the back of the vessel.

"Why are we in here?!" Phantom yelled, wondering how they were any better off.

"Two years ago, Matt created a set of gauntlets that could cut the Phoenix's abilities for a while. He keeps them in here just in case, and if we can find them, we might be able to knock him out for long enough to get him back to the mansion," explained Sub-zero, rummaging around in a small silver box, eventually pulling a pair of long gloves out of it.

"What if it doesn't work?" asked Shadow, staring from the gloves, to the devastation outside.

"It's worth a shot, and besides, he's a genius... it's _got _to work!" Sub-zero yelled, jumping back out onto the deck, "Steve! You need to get me closer to him!"

Shadow jumped out onto the deck, landing gracefully besides Sub-zero and grabbing him by the hand.

'BAMF!'

They were behind the Negative Phoenix, balanced dangerously on the edge of the deck that was tearing itself apart.

"_I see you...," _a voice spoke into his mind, cold and un-natural, almost _daring _him to try anything, _"... have to hurry... no control... destroy..." _the voice continued, but it was not the same. It seemed more human... but weak... straining.

Sub-zero aimed both gloves at the massive fire-bird and waited until he had a clear shot at the body of the Negative Phoenix. As he aimed, the deck shook violently, throwing both of them off of the ship. The wind whipped their outfits as they hurtled down, and Shadow's stomach felt as if it was in his throat. Though only falling for seconds, it seemed like centuries as their vision switched between sky and Earth, blending the two in a flurry of dark colour. Sub-zero was trying desperately to swivel himself around, for reasons that soon became apparent.

Sub-zero blasted his hands downwards and created a slope of ice which he was relieved to land on. Wasting no time, he swerved the ice-slide to his left and allowed Shadow to land on the slide with him. They were still dropping though, fast. This high up, an ice slide became tricky to maintain and began to break up quickly.

"Hold on!" Shadow called, grabbing Sub-zero and teleporting them both as far up as Shadow could get them.

Sub-zero reached out ad grabbed a wire that flailed in front of him. Yanking it hard, they both swung round and landed heavily on the deck once more. Not allowing for the same to happen twice, Sub-zero fired a blind shot up at the bird of flames and preyed.

Seconds passed and all of them felt the helli-carrier begin to go down. Obviously, the engines had just been ripped apart and the Negative Phoenix had been keeping the structure up. Now, with no support, the ship began to plummet towards the valley below, breaking up as it went. The structural integrity had been compromised by the telekinetic assault, and the vessel was now simply snapping apart.

The flames died down to reveal the still-flaming body of Entity, which sank slowly to the ground. Struggling to stay upright and orientated, Sub-zero made his way towards Entity's un-conscious form and, icing his hands up first, picked up his flaming body to carry it back to the jet as fast as he could.

The jet was already in the air. The engines were not active, but the falling helli-carrier had forced the Jet up and Sub-zero was forced to enter a partial ice-slide in order to jump aboard it. He had very little time left, and as he placed Entity's body down at the back, he climbed into the cockpit seat and took the controls. Phantom and Shadow had just managed to make it inside, but as they gazed out of the window, a new danger became apparent. The ground was racing closer and closer to them .

Manically flipping switches and yanking on the throttle, the jet pulled up just in time, avoiding the ground, but not the enormous shockwave that resulted from the helli-carrier ploughing into the earth.

The jet rocked from side to side as shrapnel pummelled the wings. Sub-zero increased the speed and flipped the jet around to fly home, racing into the sky to avoid more flying metal. Below them, thousands of escape pods were visible, floating to the ground with parachutes.

"_At least they're not all dead," _Sub-zero thought, wondering wether Fury had escaped in the nick of time...

"This is Sub-zero, requesting the medical bay be prepared immediately and the hangar doors opened! We have an emergency! Could Professor Xavier please make his way to the med lab?" Sub-zero asked over the com system.

"Thomas? What ever is the matter?" Beast asked in response as the Jet messily skidded to a halt in the hangar. The landing gear had never been engaged, thus it took some time for the jet to stop fully.

"The Negative Phoenix," he replied, dis-engaging the controls and lowering the landing ramp.

Phantom and Shadow climbed out and looked as the heavy damage that the jet had sustained. It was a miracle that it had lasted them this long. Most of the outer plating had been melted, and shards of metal jutted out in all directions from the wings. Pieces of the vessel were still dropping off.

Sub-zero climbed out last, carrying Entity in his arms. As he ran for the sub-basement, his mind kept re-playing what had taken place that day...

"_...sorry... I'm so sorry... it didn't mean t-... I didn't... I'm sorry," _he thought to himself, the thoughts transferred to words as he approached the med-lab doors.

"Sorry... sorry... it was my fault, I shouldn't have said that... shouldn't have said it ... I'm sorry!" he whimpered, tears streaking his face as he got angrier at himself. His breath began to become heavier as the strain of the trip bore down upon him.

He gritted his teeth to hold back a painful sob as he layed Matthew down on the bed. He was limp... almost frail... broken. Xavier arrived seconds later and, without saying a word, moved straight over to the body and pressed his fingers against the boy's temples.

Sub-zero left the room, unsure of what to do or say, beginning to run. He had no idea where he was going, but he needed to escape. Without realising it, he ran to his room, slamming the door behind him and collapsing to his knees in the middle of his dormitory. Tears soaked his cheeks and he slammed the ground, freezing it at the same time.

"I'm sorry...," he whispered, "I'm so, so sorry..."

Jean Grey walked silently into the medical laboratory, slowing down to observe the scene before her. Matthew lay still on the sleek surface of the table. His face was calm and peaceful, but no doubt his mind was a different story. Her memory brought back similar images, only it was herself in his position.

His mission clothes were gone, replaced by a black and silver version of the Phoenix's costume. It was alien to her... unnatural and it disturbed her to wonder why this version of the Phoenix was so much darker. The silver Phoenix across his chest rose and fell, the only indication that he was still alive.

"Professor?" she asked, quietly, standing the other side of the table.

"He destroyed SHIELD, Jean. They have lost half of their personnel and no doubt they are looking for someone to blame," he informed, his voice was serious but he remained calm.

"I got in touch with Colonel Fury. He's alive but he doesn't remember what happened," she explained, taking a seat beside the unconscious student, her red hair moved almost like water as she moved.

"For that, I suppose, we must be thankful... Many lives were lost today, Jean. I am unsure of how we should proceed," Xavier said, still concentrating on his telepathic interaction with Entity, though his expression was grim.

"It isn't his fault. He's too young to have this kind of responsibility," Jean said, placing a hand on the boy's forehead.

"Then are we at an agreement on what must be done?" Xavier asked, referring to a conversation that they'd had long ago.

Jean's bright green eyes seemed to lose their sparkle as she recalled what the Professor had spoken of. The very idea sent a cold spear into her stomach.

"Isn't there another way?" she asked, her voice was soft and hopeful, with a tone of desperation.

Xavier was silent for a moment before he spoke again, "There is one other way, yes. But it requires him to make the choice."

Realising what the Professor was referring to, Jean seemed to brighten up slightly,

"He made the choice. He told me before we left, during the briefing. We were having a telepathic conversation and he asked me about the symbiote theory... he said if there's any chance that he could have a normal life, he'd be willing to try it," she explained, brushing her long red hair out of her eyes.

"Then I think we'll be needing the symbiote. Find Beast and have him bring the subject here," Xavier ordered, sudden determination showing in his voice.

"You called?" Beast asked, walking into the lab holding a black substance in a container.

"Let me communicate with the being. We must be sure that this will not make things worse," Xavier said, taking the flask from Beast and closing his eyes. Beast regarded the man with a look of one who was observing utter insanity. It certainly seemed that way to him.

"_Do you understand the current situation?" _Xavier asked it first, listening for a response. The question hung in his mind for several seconds before it received any form of response.

"_**Yess,"**_came the reply. The voice was weaker then he had expected it to be, but never the less, he continued.

"_Will you accept Matthew as your new host?" _he asked, once again listening for the response.

"_**We accept, most enthusiastically,"**_it replied, a feeling of anticipation flowed through their link, indicating that the symbiote did indeed wish to bond. This was no surprise to him.

Xavier opened the flask and set it down next to the body. The black substance practically leapt from the container and latched onto Matthew's unconscious form.. It instantly began to spread out, coating the Negative Phoenix's costume completely and continuing to cover the young man's head.

It settled down, seemingly absorbed into the skin of it's new host. The costume had disappeared to be replaced by a black suit that covered Matthew from head to toe. A huge white spider logo spread across his chest, replacing the Negative Phoenix emblem and where his eyes were, elongated triangles appeared.

This was the beginning.

It's job was far from over yet...


	13. 13, We Are One

**We Are One**

The night turned to the early hours of the morning and there was still no apparent change in Matthew's condition. Jean had left to find Cyclops, seeking some comfort against the depression she felt. As the sun rose into the sky, illuminating the estate grounds in it's golden light, Jessica walked into the sub-basement and settled down next to Matt's body.

Her face bore a look of sympathy, and she tried to smile as she spoke. That was all she did. She spoke. She spoke about how the others were, and how upset Liam was and how he hoped his brother would recover soon. She spoke about nothing in particular, but just said things, as if speaking to him was how she felt she was able to help.

Hours passed. The early morning matured into a bright new day. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was a glowing ball of yellow light in the sapphire skies. Jess had fallen asleep, her head resting against Entity's chest, gently muttering in her doze.

Entity jolted awake, gasping for air and staring around in shock. Colours danced in front of his eyes and for seconds he had no idea who he was. Shapes slurred across his vision and unusual sounds seemed to be careering through his brain.

It was when Entity yelled in pain that Jess bolted upright, staring immediately into his smooth, white eyes. His entire body was in pain. It felt as if his own skin was attacking his insides and crushing him.

"Matt? What's wrong?" Jess asked, beginning to panic as Entity arched his back and yelled again, writhing uncomfortably, as if he were being attacked viciously from all angles.

"It... burning!... it hurts!" he managed, collapsing back into the bed, still aching but the pain seemed to have sub-sided. It was this time that the panic took over fully.

"That's the symbiote...," she explained, stroking his shoulder softly, trying to soothe him, but her eyes still held a look of sympathetic worry.

"I know... It'll take time to get... used to it...," he struggled, dragging himself up into a sitting position, despite the angry protest he was receiving from his arms.

"What happened? Is the Phoenix gone? Did it work?" she asked. She meant well, but for some reason, every thing she said irritated him.

"We... we reached an agreement...," he began to explain, as best he could, "It's all a bit... complicated but...I think... I don't know..."

"So-," Jess began, but Matt was forced to cut her off,

"Please... don't talk. The sound hurts," he explained, remembering something he had read about the Venom symbiote's reaction to sound.

She gave him an understanding look (obviously masking a slightly insulted expression), and left the room as quietly as she could.

"How is he?" Stephen asked, once she exited the med lab.

He looked as if he'd barely slept. His deep blue fur was ruffled and untidy, and his clothes were badly creased.

"He's definitely recovering... as for the Phoenix, I don't know," she explained, running a hand through her hair as a worried tear rolled down her cheek.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, softly, trying not to aggravate her further.

"Nothing... I'm fine. I just... y 'know, just forget it," she said, waving her hand in an indication that she wanted to be left alone.

"Sheesh... fine then," he mumbled under his breath as she stormed into the elevator.

"_What happened?" _Entity wondered, asking himself mentally.

His mind was clouded, unable to recall the events of the past days. One thing was definitely certain, there was something missing from his mind that seemed to lift an incredible weight from his shoulders. Despite it's obvious importance, he could not begin to remember what it was.

"_The Phoenix... the Phoenix made an agreement with you. Do you not recall?" _a voice explained to him.

It was a highly unusual sound, evidently not emanating from human vocal cords. It seemed to arrive in his mind, without passing through his ears at all. Never the less, the soft, hissing voice had sent flashes of memory to begin thundering through his mind.

"_We were all on the verge of defeat. The Negative Phoenix allowed you to seal it away, providing you were strong enough to keep it suppressed, and that you allowed it to emerge when it is needed," _the voice reminded. More images flew through his brain as he remembered the event.

"_Yes... I remember... but you? What are you?" _Entity asked the voice, unsure why there was still a separate consciousness within him if the Phoenix was locked away..

"_We are you, now," _the voice informed, a note of fact in it's tone, _"We have bonded. Permanently. Without our symbiotic relationship, you will be unable to keep the Negative Phoenix within your subconscious."_

"_Symbiote? The Venom symbiote?" _Entity asked it, unreadable emotions erupting within him.

He raised his hand to his face, examining the black substance which he now wore. The light reflected from it's glossy surface and it seemed darker then anything he had ever seen.

"_Correct, but we shall not force you to assume the same name. After all, you are... unique," _it stated, an odd feeling came from it that was easily recognisable as _not _one of Entity's emotions. It was a feeling of pride... almost excitement, mixed with (however curious) pleasure.

"_When you said we were permanently bonded...," _Entity began to question, but the symbiote answered,

"_There is no way to reverse the process now, unless you wish to be bombarded with ultra-sonic waves to a point that the both of us are near to death. That is the only way that we may be separated, but you would be left at the mercy of the Negative Phoenix once more."_

Entity did not pose any more questions for the next few minutes, allowing the information the be absorbed properly by his brain. Eventually, he began to talk once more,

"_What did you mean by 'unique'?"_

"_Unlike previous hosts, you are capable of providing a constant supply of the resources we require. Your body is also powerful, and your mind is strong. For lack of a better word, you are the 'perfect' host," _the being replied, sending images of people into Entity's mind. These people, he assumed, were previous hosts.

A feeling of immense embarrassment spread through Entity, a feeling that was instantly picked up on by his 'other'.

"_You are uncomfortable?" _it asked in a way that Entity was unable to identify how it felt.

"_Yes... ," _Entity replied, feeling both awkward and anxious.

"_Why?" _the symbiote questioned, the curiosity was evident.

"_You're... all over me... You're in my mind and you're attached to ever single part of me... I think I'm entitled to feel a little embarrassment at a time like this," _Entity replied, running his hands curiously down his chest, admiring the white spider symbol that wrapped around him but remaining apprehensive.

"_Your feelings are understood. Be reassured that, as I am now part of you, I shall function as part of you. You have nothing to fear, although your mind holds many interesting things," _the symbiote explained, a feeling of assurance was shared between them.

"_This is so... strange...," _Entity thought to himself, still examining his body with the utmost curiosity.

His muscles, though they had felt heavy and painful mere moments before, had filled with newfound strength that made him feel as though he could bound to the moon and back without a problem.

"_In time you will become used to it. For now, your body needs to rest._ _I suggest that you drink, as you have been severely dehydrated in the time you have been unconscious," _it said, pleased that it was not being rejected.

" _So you're going to have to stay with me? Now that you've bonded permanently, you'll have to stay with me all the time, won't you?" _Entity asked it, hanging his legs over the side of the bed, struggling to get up and travel to the nearby sink for a glass of water.

"_Yes. I must remain with you until the day that one of us ceases to be," _it answered, strange feelings mingled with it's voice.

"_There goes any possible future relationships," _Entity thought to himself, not really directing the comment at the symbiote, but it responded anyway,

"_In the event that you should become involved in any physical interactions, we shall not intervene," _it informed, instantly forcing another feeling of embarrassment into Entity's gut.

"_I wasn't talking about that kind of... that's not what I meant," _Entity replied, feeling evermore awkward.

"_Sub-consciously, you were thinking along those lines. Besides, there is plenty of time for your opinions of the matter to change," _it said, a tone in it's voice seemed disturbing, almost as if there was a hidden meaning in what it had said.

"_And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" _Entity asked, surprised to find that he found the matter amusing.

The feeling of amusement was shared, but the matter was soon dropped for a different subject,

"_What about hygiene? It's not exactly healthy to keep the same costume on all the time," _Entity asked, thinking about how he would keep clean with the symbiote still attached.

"_We are not a costume. Besides, we shall keep your body clean. You will still require to bathe, but not as often as normal," _the symbiote answered, still somewhat amused, _"If it makes you more comfortable, we shall take a less distinctive form."_

Entity watched his outfit disappear, leaving him stood there in front of the sink wearing nothing but his underwear. Entity began to examine himself once again, searching for the alien.

"_Where are you?" _he asked, becoming worried.

"_We have entered your skin. We are able to alter shape, therefore sinking in to you was simple. This will enable you to retain your natural image," _it explained, re-emerging and forming the outfit once more.

"_Talk about full of surprises...," _Entity thought, still running through the information in his head.

He reached for the tap and let the cold water cascade down the metallic surface of the sink. There was a cup on the work top, just along from where he was. He raised his hand, attempting to telekinetically seize it. When nothing happened on his second attempt at this, he began to worry.

He frowned and tried again, but the cup remained stationary.

"_What?-,"_ he began to wonder, still trying to lift the object and becoming more and more frustrated.

"_Your psychic powers, with the exception of telepathy, have been greatly reduced. Your telekinesis alone may take months to return, and even then it may only be enough to lift small objects," _the symbiote explained, to the utter disbelief of the young man.

He collapsed to his knees, still staring at the cup, but you wouldn't be able to tell from looking at him, due to the white, triangular patches that covered his eyes.

"_But... those powers... that's not fair! They were mine! They didn't belong to the Phoenix, the belonged to me! Why did it take them!?" _he complained, anger beginning to light within him, burning away at his brain and forcing him to hammer his fist into the cupboard to his side.

The metal door of the cupboard seemed to offer no resistance, and split under the force of the punch. Entity's fist tore a hole in the metal but he felt no pain, although his anger sub-sided, replaced by slight amazement.

"_Your other power is intact. You are still able to metamorphose into a Dragon," _the symbiote explained, before continuing, _" You will gain more abilities, but before utilising them, you must rest."_

Without another word, or thought, Entity picked himself up from the ground and walked over to the bed, lying down heavily, still angry but also curious as to what he could do now. His psychic powers were gone, why was he worrying? Didn't that mean he could be _himself _now? Didn't that mean he no longer had to worry about expressing emotion? His mind was still racing when his eyes closed, and slowed down as he drifted off into an unusual slumber, no longer plagued by the planet's agony. The voices, the thoughts, the feelings, had been silence.

He was free.

At last.


End file.
